Bolg in Azog's role in the films
by Fanficteller
Summary: What if Azog had died in the film's version of the Battle of Azanulbizar and his son Bolg was the one who had vengeful life-task to hunt down Thorin's company and then eventually led the armies of Dol Guldur into the Battle of the Five Armies until his dead. - Each chapter has some hints from The Hobbit book's plot mixed with Peter Jackson's films plots and with a bit my own ideas.
1. Chapter 1: Balin's Story

CHAPTER 1: BALIN'S STORY

After Thorin had scolded both Fili and Kili for making fun of Bilbo about the possibility of the midnight goblin raid and withdrew aside of their night camp, Balin came to Fili and Kili and Bilbo.

"Don't mind him, laddies. Thorin has more cause than most to hate goblins," The old white-bearded dwarf said gently to the dwarf brothers, who briefly turned their worried and sympathetic looks on their faces to Thorin, as he stopped in the edge of their camp and looked quietly over to the wilderness.

Though Fili and Kili knew the reason, or kind of, Bilbo was curious to know that what was the "cause" for Thorin to hate these things called "goblins".

However, Balin seemingly sensed his curiosity and decided to explain to Bilbo Thorin's cause, even though a bit reluctantly in Thorin's presence, knowing that Thorin already knew it all too well, and a burden of it was mentally heavy to bear.

Then, Balin started to tell the story.

Balin: "Not long after the dragon took over the Lonely Mountain, King Thror gathered small band of dwarf refugees and traveled to the Misty Mountains in attempt to reclaim the ancient dwarf kingdom of Moria..."

 _"...but our enemy had got there first."_

(The scene turns into flashback) In the rocky hillock area called Azanulbizar, King Thror, the prince Thrain and his son Thorin and the bunch of dwarf refugees mentioned by Balin were surrounded and captured by the huge group of different-sized, skinny, sickly- and even deformed looking and at them mockingly laughing goblins, and they are forced with the long goblin-spears and whips on their knees in front of the Eastern-Gate of the ancient and a long ago abandoned dwarf-kingdom of Khazad-Dûm, A.K.A Moria.

All the dwarf women refugees with their in fear crying dwarf babies and young dwarf children are placed in middle of the group and all the male dwarfs had surrounded them to protect them from the goblin spears with their own lives and bodies.

At the Eastern-Gate of Moria, surrounded by the group of heavily armored goblins as a bodyguard, was standing the roughly over human-sized, pale-skinned, scarred and the most monstrous goblin any dwarf had ever seen.

Balin: _"Moria had been taken by the massive legions of goblins of the Misty Mountains..."  
_  
 _"...and they were led by the most vile of all their race, Azog."_

(Flashback) Mumbling in growling tone in Black Speech, Azog raises his long goblin-made sword and points with it from all the dwarf captives at the king Thror and orders in the Black Speech several goblins to bring Thror to him.

And while some goblins roughly held the resisting Thrain and Thror back, the goblins grabs from Thror and roughly dragged him from the group of prisoners and up of the stairs of the Eastern-Gate of Moria and throw him in front of Azog.

As Thror slowly stands up and looked up at the monstrous goblin, Azog maliciously laughing snarled at the dwarven king.

Bilbo (confused): _"Azog? Who is Azog?"_

Balin: _"Azog... the Defiler. The giant Gundabad Goblin, also called the Pale-Goblin, who had falsely proclaimed himself as the king of Moria in front of Thror's group of dwarf refugees."_

 _"After having found us and captured us, king Thror, along with his bunch of refugees, was accused for attempt of 'trespassing' and 'thieving.' And with the threat of unspeakable torturing and the threat of making him to watch his fellow dwarves being executed before his very own eyes, and with the pleasure to humiliate the dwarf king even more, Azog 'promised' to spare him, both of his son and his grandson and the rest of the dwarf refugees he had brought with him to Moria, only if Thror personally bows down before him to show respect for the new king of Moria and personally declares him as the king of Moria in front of his own people. However, not willing to betray his own people by, Thror defied Azog with the declaring words "These are the Halls of Durin and that he will not bow to the desecrators of Durin's halls!"_

(In the present) Balin kept the small break in his story, allowing Bilbo to think about everything he had heard so far, during of which the hobbit took a brief look to Thorin's direction.

Balin then continued his story.

Balin (with heavy heart): " _Enraged of this, Azog... personally beheaded our King in front of our very own eyes._ "

(Flashback) Azog angrily orders two of his heavily armored bodyguard goblin to bring Thror back on his knees for the execution for 'insolently' defying him. The goblins with the pleasure roughly bring the resisting dwarf king down on his knees and roughly press his head down.

Thorin and Thrain, witnessing Thror's commit execution in the hands of Azog, started to hardly struggle back against their captors to get to Thror and save him from his upcoming fate, even outnumbered and unarmed in middle of the hordes of goblins, but with no avail.

Both Thorin and Thráin helplessly watch from aside as Azog raises his sword and beheads Thror with a one swung!

Azog then picks Thror's beheaded head from the ground and shows Thror's head, with his name carved in runes of the Black Speech onto Thror's forehead, to both of his son, his grandson and to the other shocked and horrified dwarf refugees, triumphantly and maliciously laughing at the downfall of the former great dwarf king of the Lonely Mountain, before Azog threw the head in front of shocked and horrified Thrain and Thorin.

Thorin: "NOOOOOOOOOO...!"

Balin: _"Azog, however, spared the rest of us, but he ordered us to deliver a message back to our people of Thror's demise, proclaiming himself as the bane of Thror and the ultimate king of Moria, warning that all beggars who dared to enter Moria and attempt thievery would meet a similar fate. He allowed us to retrieve Thror's head, with his name carved onto his forehead as the proof of his demise and gave us a small pouch of coins of little worth as a final gesture of scorn."_

 _"Once we left, we turned to look back and we saw that Azog had allowed his goblins to hack our king's body apart and fed the pieces of him to the ravens."_

 _"For this, Thrain, Thorin's father, was driven into vengeful rage by grief and disgust for not being able to do anything at that moment, that he nearly tore his beard off."_

 _"For seven days he sat in silence with little food or drink at hand deeply under of his grief."_

 _"Until on the seventh day, he finally stood up and declared, "This cannot be borne!"_

 _"For three years, with the help of his son, Thrain spread the word of Thror's cruel demise and his desecration in the hands of Azog in the ears of all dwarves of the world. and once the dishonor to the heir of the eldest of their race had filled all dwarves with pure wrath, Thrain was able to rally all dwarven houses in every corner of the world; Longbeards, Firebeards, Broadbeams, Ironfists, Stonefoots, Blacklocks, and Stiffbeards together into the massive dwarf army ever seen... for the one common goal..."_

"... _completely wipe out the all goblins of Misty Mountains into the extinction... and kill Azog."_

 _"And once everything was ready... then began the great War of the Dwarves and Goblins."_

(Flashback, shows the several goblin settlements on the mountain side and on the feet of the mountain being burned down... and the shot ends up to the Mount Gundabad under the siege of the massive dwarf army.)

Balin: " _For the six years, we mercilessly hunted down thousands and thousands of goblins and destroyed the every goblin settlements of the Misty Mountains one by one from Mount Gundabad in the north (the mountain fortress and the capital of the goblins of the Misty Mountains, which we also laid under siege at some point during the war) to the peak of Methedras in the south. Most of the war was fought underground, in the great mines and tunnels of the Misty Mountains, but we also went through the bloody ambush-battles with the goblins on the surface of the ground. Both sides were pitiless to each others, and there was death and cruel deeds by dark and by light. This stage of the war was said to be so grim and bitter that few dwarf veterans many years afterwards, ever recounted what took place beneath the mountains._

 _"Even though we were unaided by the other peoples, we dwarves, with the advantage through our unmatched weapons, with our unmatched and disciplined battle strategies and the burning fire of our vengeful anger towards Azog, managed to conquer the most of the Misty Mountains and push the goblins far to the south."_

 _"It was then, when we eventually met Azog the Defiler and his remaining armies of goblins in the battle in front of the Eastern Gate of Moria... known as, the Battle of Azanulbizar."_

(Flashback) The rocky and hilly fields of Azanulbizar in front of the Eastern Gate of Moria is covered by the legions of thousands and thousands heavily armored and armed dwarves and the hordes of tens of thousands goblins, and the huge troll-like goblins, of Misty Mountains, Fiercely and bloodily fighting against each other, killing hundreds of dwarves and thousands of goblins.

The royal dwarves, Thráin, Thorin, his younger brother Frerin and their fellow dwarf leader, their family member and the lord of the Iron Hills, Náin and his son Dáin II and all of their royal bodyguards were fiercely fighting against the pouring goblins on the top of the small hillock.

Thràin smashed the goblin skulls one by one into mush with his large war-hammer...

Náin cut down the goblins with his large royal red battle-axe with the wild boar carvings...

His son Dáin delivered the lethal strikes with his red war-hammer against the goblins in the side of his father...

Thorin (with his little brother Frerin) slayed dozens and dozens of goblins one by one with his royal dwarf sword and hammered the goblins skulls with his royal dwarf shield...

His childhood friends, younger Balin and Dwalin, sons of Fundin, were fighting at the side of Thorin. Balin beheaded the goblins with his star-headed sword, while Dwalin brutally sliced the goblins with his one-handed and twin-bladed axes called Grasper and Keeper and gave to the goblins highly dizzying head-butts.

During of the bloody fight, Azog cleared his way through of the dwarves' ranks, beheading dozens of dwarves with his long sword and deadly knocking numerous dwarves out of his way with his massive mace, aiming with it to the larger groups of the dwarves and killing with it five-eight dwarves with the every swung and knocking several others over to the ground, until he was standing in front of the royal dwarfs and their army's leaders.

Balin: _"During the battle, Thráin, filled by the vengeful rage towards Azog for killing Thror, led a charge towards the Dimrill Gate against Azog the Defiler and his own goblin bodyguards, slaying dozens of goblins on their way. But he suddenly went missing. He was either taken prisoner or killed; but we did not know nor never found out the truth."_

 _"Enraged for the dwarves ignoring his earlier warnings for them, eventually swore to wipe out the entire Line of Durin out of revenge and proclaimed that he and all his own foul relatives are life-tasked to his oath and none of then will not rest until the head of each member of the line of Durin is on his grasp."_

 _"He began in his task... by probably starting from Thráin... And then he moved on to rest of us."_

(Flashback) Azog charges at first Náin.

Balin: _"Náin, Thorin's grand-cousin, attacked towards Azog after the Pale Goblin finished off his bodyguards, calling his name to come and face him. They two fought, long and hard. Náin withstood long Azog's brutal assaults until, blinded by his great rage, he swung a great stroke with all his strength at Azog. However, the Pale Goblin dodged the blow and kicked Náin hard, causing him to fall backwards. The monstrous goblin charged at him when he tried get back on his feet, and Azog finished him off, with the brutal swung of his mace, breaking Náin's neck and killing him."_

 _"And after his death, we were leaderless."_

 _"And once our leaders were dead, the goblins charged with the fresh but roughly ten times larger and stronger counter-attack into our ranks like the massive wave hits with the devastating force to the shore cliffs. It felt like all the goblins from the entire area and from every corner the Misty Mountains were swarming against us like the endless black sea of goblins."_

(Flashback) The endless sea and the massive swarming wave of goblins destroys the dwarf army's strongest ranks one by one and slaughters thousands and thousands of the finest dwarf soldiers with the swarming and overwhelming numbers, corners some of the dwarf soldiers in great numbers to the edges of the cliffs and threw us over the edges to our deaths and eventually forces the dwarf army with the brutal force to retreat to the lower hills, killing more and more dwarves during of their retreat.

Balin: _"The certain defeat and death were upon us."_

Balin kept the brief break again.

(Back in the present) Bilbo, who had with concentration listened Balin's story so far from the very beginning, looked at the old white-bearded dwarf in amazement of his story.

Then Balin continued, with the proud smile on his face as he turned to look at Thorin.

Balin: _"And when the hope was lost... that was when I saw him."_

 _"The young dwarf prince facing down the Pale Goblin."_

 _"After losing his bodyguards, he bravely stood alone against this terrible foe..."_

(Flashback) Enraged Thorin challenges Azog to the in single combat with him, which the Pale Goblin accepts with the pleasure and attacks Thorin by hammering him with the heavy blows with his mace, knocking first his shield and then his sword out of his hands, sending the dwarf prince to roll downhill to the small pit full of the both goblins and dwarf bodies.

The gigantic Pale Goblin laughs at Thorin before he charges towards him.

Azog jumps from the edge of the small pit Thorin had fallen towards him, raising his massive mace over of his head and preparing to crush Thorin with it.

Thorin, thinking quickly, grabbed to the nearby oaken branch and quickly rolled away as Azog's massive mace landed with the thunderous CLANK against the ground.

Balin: _"...his armor was rent..."_

Thorin starts to use oaken branch as a shield to desperately defend himself against the monstrous goblin's heavy blows with his mace.

Balin: _"_ _...wielding nothing but an oaken branch as a shield..."_

Azog's heavy attacks eventually overpowers, sending him off the balance and the dwarf prince falls to the ground near-beaten.

Balin: _"And it was then, when..."_

As Azog prepares to swing his massive weapon down with his left arm to execute the final blow and finish off Thorin once and for all, Dáin suddenly arrives Thorin's aid, catching the Pale Goblin off guard and sliced with his father's red battle-ax the Pale Goblin's left hand off, thus saving Thorin's life.

As Dáin rushed to Thorin and helped him back his feet, the Pale Goblin lets out the loud roar of pain and he slightly retreats from the dwarf, holding with his remaining arm his bleeding arm and falls on his knees before of the two dwarf princes, uniting together against the Pale Goblin.

Balin: _"Azog the Defiler learned that day that the line of Durin would not be so easily broken. That mistake cost him his left hand... in the hands of two dwarven princes."_

(Back in the present) Balin takes a third brief break more, before he continued to the end of his story.

(Flashback) The remaining dwarf forces were then able to recover and regroups together, and one of them raised their war-flag above of their troops, the top of which was hanging the beheaded head of Azog the Defiler, with his pouch of coins stuffed into his mouth, as the trophy of the dwarves and as visible proof for all the remaining hordes of goblins to know that Azog the Defiler had fallen.

Thorin stands in the front of the dwarf army with Dáin. Dáin holding his father's red battle-axe and Thorin holding the royal dwarf sword and the oaken branch as they shouts intimidating war cries upon the hordes of goblins and rallying and encouraging war cries upon their own armies.

Dáin: "BARUK KHAZÂD! KHAZÂD AI-MÊNU!"

Thorin: "DU BEKAR, KHAZÂD! DU BEKAR!"

With shouting the same war cries, the entire army of remaining dwarves, rallied and led forward by Thorin and Dáin and Dwalin and Balin on their side, charges to the final and massive counter-attack against the still massive hordes of the goblins.

Dwarven pikes lowered down, dwarf shields raised up, the dwarf war-hammers and battle-axes raised above of their heads, the dwarf swords drawn back ready for the deadly stabbing strikes and giving all strength they still had left, the dwarf ranks collided with the goblin ranks... which was followed the massive massacre of the goblins.

Dáin slaughtered dozens and dozens of goblins with his father's red ax, beheading them one by one or delivering the deadly strikes to their upper bodies, while Thorin cut down dozens of them with his sword and hammered some of them with his oaken branch, using it as the shield and the club at the same time.

Balin: _"Our remaining forces rallied to the massive counterattack and drove the goblins back with the brutal force!"_

 _"We kept slaughtering the goblins... until the ground was fully covered by the blood and mutilated bodies of the tens of thousands of goblins..."_

 _"...until our enemy, had finally been defeated!"_

Balin: (with the heavy heart) " _The battle, as well as the entire war, ended to our victory... but there was no feast nor songs that night, for our dead were beyond the count of grief. Too many friends, brothers, fathers, cousins and other relatives, including Fundin, the father of mine and Dwalin, had fallen that day. Too many to be taken back home for funerals. From the massive dwarf army, which had arrived to the battlefield of Azanulbizar, only we few had survived._ "

(Flashback) The battle is over and the few hundred dwarves, who had barely survived from the massive massacre, walked amidst the heaps of their slain kin and the goblins, finishing off the wounded goblins and checking their own thousands and thousands fallen dwarves, finding many of them already dead or dying.

Many dwarves are sitting all over the place under of the great grief, mourning their the countless number of their fallen kinsmen.

Balin, sits close of the body of fallen Fundin (who had been killed by smashing with the mace his head inside of his helmet) holding from his arm and mourning his father's death, until Dwalin comes to his brothers side and gives to him comforting hug before departing.

Grieving Balin then looks above of the hill covered by the slain dwarfs and goblins and noticed Thorin walking over there.

Balin: (Proudly smiling at Thorin's direction) _"And when I saw him again, I thought to myself then 'There is one I could follow. There is one I could one day call King."_

Thorin then turns back to the camp after Balin had finished his story, and finds out that all the sleeping dwarves of his humble company had get up and were gathered around of him, showing the deep respect for their leader and possibly upcoming king of the Lonely Mountain.

Thorin answered to them with the humble and grateful nod, before he started to walk back to the camp.

Bilbo also showed his respect for so much mentally and physically experienced dwarf lord... but one question was still bothering him about Balin's story.

"And the Pale Goblin? What happened to him?" Bildo asked from Balin.

Balin had no time to answer before Thorin answered to Bilbo's question for him.

"For what that filth did to us, we returned him the favor. We beheaded him and hung his head on the tip of the stake, with the pouch of coins he had thrown to us, stuffed into his mouth. We left him to the battlefield as the warning for the survived goblins," Thorin answered with the disgust in his voice towards Azog's name.

"I hope that you're satisfied to that answer, Mr. Baggins, because I don't want hear that filth's name ever again," Thorin added, as he passed the hobbit.

On the site, Gandalf gave to Balin a bit scolding look for telling this story at Thorin's presence. It was not good to remind him for what he had experienced and what he had lost because of the goblins in the past.

* * *

 **Small trivia.**  
My version of Balin's story may be a bit long with the detailed details than what it was in the movie, but I wanted to write Balin to tell the entire history of the War of the Dwarves and Orcs a bit from Tolkien's point of view.


	2. Chapter 2: Weathertop

CHAPTER 2: WEATHERTOP

At night in the top of the ruined tower of the Weathertop, when the moon was full and the wargs both the smooth and coarse howling echoed in the night sky.

It was then when two Gundabad goblins, Fimbul the Hunter and Yazneg, the goblin captain with the black ragged coat and the commander of the small now-slaughtered pack of the warg riders, who had ambushed earlier today Thorin Oakenshield's company from traveling through of the wilderness and kill them all, especially their leader Thorin Oakenshield, until they had failed in their mission, thanks to the interference of the brown wizard with the rapid rabbits and eventually the deadly ambush of the elves, nervously crawled into the ruined fortress of the Weathertop, where they were instantly surrounded by the fresh pack of the other Gundabad goblin hunters and the savage Gundabad wargs, who had made their camp to within the ruined watch tower and were all glaring at two of their pack's members, who returned to them empoty handed and failed.

Yazneg and Fimbul paid the nervous look towards their fellow goblins hunter and the growling wargs of their pack, as they walked in middle of the center of the watch towers to face their master.

In the other side of the watch tower, was lying on the ground the large and white-furred female warg, the Matriarch of this pack and the mother of all Gundabad Wargs, who aggressively growled at the two on their task failed goblins, as they nervously stood in front of the white warg's master, the hulking man-sized white-skinned goblin, who was standing in the top of the stone stairs, looking to the distances.

As the captain of the now-slaughtered warg pack and the warg riders and as responsible one of their mission, Yazneg stepped a bit forward towards their master, until he stopped immediately when the white warg growled at him.

"The dwarves, master..." Yazneg began with the humble and respective bow and with the nervous tone as he started to report his failure in the black speech.

"We lost them."

After saying this, the wargs from every corner of the watch tower began to slowly but menacingly and hungrily yet impatiently growling approaching two goblins, who looked at them nervously.

Ignoring the wargs, Yazneg turned back to their master to continue.

"They were in our grasp, but we were ambushed by the elvish filth, and we were..." Yazneg tried to explain.

Until the man-sized goblin angrily interrupted him.

I don't want excuses, Yazneg!"

The man-sized goblin turned around to the goblins.

By the appearance, he looked exactly like the Azog the Defiler himself with his muscular, enormous size, blue eyes and the pale skin, but he had the large lower jaw, inhumanly-wide mouth, ragged upper lip, one blue and one blind-white eye, slit-nostrils and thinner long hair. The goblin also had a multi-spindle piece of metal viciously attached over his head. The goblin had the small rib-cage-resembling chest-armor with two blade-like spikes and the spiked shoulder guards. The goblin also had a huge five-foot long, double-edged and serrated-bladed sword with a foot-long double spike at the end in his hand.

The goblin was Bolg, spawn of Azog the Defiler.

Bolg stepped down from the stairs, glaring angrily at two goblin warg riders, especially his second-in-command and Right-Hand-Goblin Yazneg as he approached menacingly at them, during of which he briefly stopped next to his white warg mount and gently pets its head with his hand, and the warg in return pets back to her master's hand, before he turned back to the goblins.

"All what I want, is that dwarf-king's head!" Bolg angrily growled at the goblins.

"But master, we were caught off guard and outnumbered! There was nothing we could do!" Yazned explained nervously, remembering how his warg pack was indeed caught off guard by the group of elves with over two times bigger number when they had got the dwarfs surrounded and were themselves slaughtered within seconds, leaving him and Fimbul no chance for the counter-attack.

"I barely escaped with my life!" Yazneg added, as Azog was standing right in front of him, looking down at him with disgust of such of cowardice.

"Far better if you had... paid with it." Bolg said darkly as he pet nervous Yazneg's head like in comfortingly.

However...

"If my father would be still alive, he would not accept such cowardice in his pack... and nor do I" Bolg added with the venom in his voice.

Before Yazneg had time to react, Bolg's expression on his face turned into sadistic look with the pleasure to punish his minions with the iron hand as his massive arm suddenly grabbed from Yazneg's throat, wrapping his fingers around of Yazneg neck into squeezing grip.

"TIME TO FEAST, MY PETS!" Bolg proclaimed in black speech, as he furiously and with disgust threw the goblin roughly out of the watch towers ruins to the hillock's cliff, where wargs savagely attacked to the punished goblin, and mauled him apart, killing and eating the goblin captain alive, while the other goblin hunters all around of them temporarily sadistically laughed at this and waved their weapons over their heads as Yazneg briefly screamed in pain in the fangs of the wargs before he died, and all what was heard was the wargs mauling whatever was left of Yazneg's body bone by bone.

Fimbul watched his captain's bloody and brutal demise in the fangs of the wargs in horror and shock.

Fimbul became even more nervous when Bolg turned his dark look at him.

Bolg, however, decided to spare Fimbul, but far away out of forgiveness.

Bolg turned his back to the still-nervous goblin hunter and walked back to the top of the stairs where he was standing before Yazneg's punishment.

All goblins, the wargs, nervous Fimbul and the white warg looked at him, as he angrily muttered in the black speech as he climbed the stairs to his standing spot.

"My father would be still alive... If it had not been that... that... that hair ball-faced filth and his filthy cousin rat!" Bolg muttered.

As Bolg reached to the top of the stairs, he slowly turned back to his pack.

"The dwarf-scum may have got away from us this time, but they will show themselves soon enough!" Bolg said, disgusted of the cowardly hiding of the dwarfs.

But there was also something to benefit from their "cowardly" hiding, which Bolg decided to use as his advantage against the dwarfs once they show up from their hiding spot.

"ON THE RIDE, MY GOBLINS!" Bolg eventually bellowed to his pack.

Immediately obeying their masters order, the goblin hunters hurriedly rushed to their warg mounts all around of the watch towers ruins and jumped to their wargs backs, standing still for a while to wait more orders from their master.

But before Bolg ordered anything or sent them away, he turned then back to Fimbul, who still nervously and fearfully looked back at his master, still waiting for what kind of punishment was coming for him.

However...

"Fimbul! You go and gather more hunters for the hunt and meet me back here! I'm going to lead the hunt of the dwarf, PERSONALLY! And you come with me, as my new second-in-command and Right-Hand-Goblin!" Bolg ordered.

The goblin lieutenant, now captain and the Right-Hand-Goblin of Bolg, humbly but still nervously bowed down at his master.

Then, Bolg turned to the mounted goblins and the wargs, who growled loudly, waiting impatiently the orders from their mothers master.

"SEND OUR WORD FORWARD! FOR EVERY ALLIED HILL-MAN CAMP! FOR EVERY OTHER GOBLIN SETTLEMENT ON THE MOUNTAINS! TELL THEM TO KEEP THEIR EYES OPEN AND BE IN ALERT IN CASE OF THIRTEEN DWARFS... THERE IS A HIGH PRICE ON THEIR HEADS!" Bolg openly and loudly proclaimed.

"IN THE NAME OF MY FATHER, AZOG THE DEFILER!" Bolg bellowed!

"FOR AZOG THE DEFILER!" The goblins bellowed after their master.

"Now... GOOOOOOOO!" Bolg bellowed with in the night sky echoing loud bellow, as the few dismounted wargs and the goblin warg riders departed from the Weathertop to carry out their masters orders.


	3. Chapter 3: Goblin Town

CHAPTER 3: GOBLIN TOWN

The dwarves of Thorin Oakenshield's company had been detected from the cave, where they were having the shelter from the pouring rain and the storm and the place where to spend their night, and captured by the swarming ant-like horde of the less or over dwarf-sized and the hobbit-sized deformed and sickly goblins of the Misty Mountains. The goblins swarmed with ten against one strategy against the dwarves and despite the company's resistance, the goblins overwhelmed the dwarves with their massive number, chained the dwarves into the line and roughly dragged them with into their tunnels by whipping their backs and stabbing then to their backs with the tips of their daggers and spears...

...except for Bilbo after he was separated from the dwarfs during the capturing and left undetected by the goblins with their all focus locked to their dwarf prisoners... before the hobbit fell into the chasm with the goblin who had attacked him after separation.

Ignoring the presence of the hobbit and his mysterious disappearance, the goblins dragged Thorin's company through of their tunnels and through of the line of the wooden suspension bridges...

...until they arrived to the massive underground chasm-like cave, to which walls had built to the ceiling the messy lines of the bridge-like wooden balconies, wooden suspension bridges and the shacks populated by the hundreds of thousands of goblins, who gathered to the thousands balconies and bridges after the dwarves were brought in of their town.

And in the middle of this underground town in the sharp topped towering rock and in the end of the bridge, was the wider wooden balcony, on which was the massive throne, which was made out of the mix of the old timber, skeletons, rubbish and scavenged item and the balcony surrounding the throne was filled with the piles of the skeletons.

On the throne, was sitting a giant, obese, bloated goblin with lots of warts, lumps, scars and the huge head with the deformed and he had a loose and bag-like hanging lower jaw like a pelican. This the Great Goblin's appearance resembled more the troll's appearance than the goblins, but he was still goblin after all. He carried with him a large staff decorated with an animal skull, closely resembling a ram, adorned with shrunken heads. The Great Goblin was also wearing the bone crown upon his head as the sign of him being the ruler of these caverns.

Thorin eyed the Goblin Town around and above of them. The numbers of the goblins outnumbered them with the thousands, tens of thousands goblins that it was useless to even try to fight them back... as well as the escape seemed to be impossible, especially in the chains and guarded by the over one hundred goblins who had found them from the cave and brought them to their down.

As they were brought towards of their king, the cavern's air space was filled by the disordered and deafening loud sound mixed loud sounds of the horns, gongs and the other stuff used as the musical instruments... and the dwarves heard the someone and the others sing the song... which sounded in the ears of the dwarves sounded abomination.

 _Clap, snap, the black crack_

 _Grip, grab, pinch, and nab_

 _Batter and beat_

 _Make 'em stammer and squeak!_

 _Pound pound, far underground_

 _Down, down, down in Goblin Town_

 **Goblin choir** : _Down, down, down in Goblin Town!_

 _With a swish and smack_

 _And a whip and a crack_

 _Everybody talks when they're on my rack_

 _Pound pound, far underground_

 _Down, down, down in Goblin Town_

 **Goblin choir** : _Down, down, down in Goblin Town!_

 _Hammer and tongs, get out your knockers and gongs_

 _You won't last long on the end of my prongs_

 _Clash, crash, crush and smish_

 _Bang, break, shiver and shake_

 _You can yammer and yelp_

 _But there ain't no help_

 _Down, down, down in Goblin Town_

 **Goblin choir** : _Down, down, down in Goblin Town!_

 _Down, down, down in Goblin Town_

 **Goblin choir** : _Down, down, down in Goblin Town!_

 _Down, down, down in Goblin Town_

 **Goblin choir** : _Down, down, down in Goblin Town!_

"One more time!" someone shouted, which came from the throne balcony of the cave.

 _DOWN, DOWN, DOWN IN GOBLIN TO_ _~ OWN!  
_

And once the song had ended, the dwarves were brought in the front of their king, the goblins removed their chains, with certainty that the dwarves had no chance to fight back nor to escape from them and those goblins, who had took the weapons from every member of Thorin's company, threw them into the pile in front of them.

The Great Goblin took the look at the company, eying them for a while with the suspicious look on his deformed face, before ordering the some smaller goblins with him with the hand gesture to form the living goblin stool in the feet of his throne, which he used when he had to stand from his throne, squeezing the goblins under of his massive weight.

Loudly stomping from his throne towards the company, the Great Goblin immediately took the business.

"Who dares to be so bold as to come armed into my kingdom?" The great Goblin said with the thunderous voice.

He eyed the dwarf company one more time before he spoke again.

"What do we have here? Spies? Thieves? Assassins?"

One of the goblins, Grinnah, the point-eared goblin and the Great Goblin's right-hand-goblin, stepped forward to present his catch to his king.

"Just the bunch of dwarves, your malevolence." Grinnah reported.

"DWARVES?!" The Great Goblin bellowed in the disgust.

"There's not seen any sight of dwarves since the wars of Moria! What are the dwarves doing in MY KINGDOM?!"

"We don't know yet, but we found them from having the shelter from the rain on our front porch." Grinnah added.

The Great Goblin, with these news, turned to the rest of the goblins surrounding the dwarves.

"Well then, don't just stand there. SEARCH THEM! EVERY CRACK AND EVERY CREVICE!" The Great Goblin ordered.

And in the seconds, the goblins started with the same ten on one strategy to researching the dwarves pockets and their packaging to find something suspicious or interesting they were carrying.

Lucky for their high secret quest, Thorin had hid both the map and the key of Erebor within his boots just in case of the situations like this.

The first dwarf Grinnah researched was Oin, as he rudely took his trumped from his hand and after taking the brief look at it, Grinnah the it to the ground and stomped it to flat, much to Oin's dismay and Thorin's anger of his friends being treated like this.

The next dwarf whom Grinnah researched was Nori, from who Grinnah took his packaging and emptied its containing to the balcony's wooden floor.

Nori's packaging was full of the shiny objects, elven-made objects: tableware, goblets and candles.

With the disgusted look in his face, Grinnah picked from the them the golden elven-made candle and handed it over to the Great Goblin.

"It is my belief, your great protuberance, that these dwarfs are in league with elves!" Grinnah reported.

The great goblin took the candle from Grinnah's hands and eyed it for a while himself.

"Made... in... Rivendell." Ah! Second Age. Couldn't the elves give their old stuff away?" The Great Goblin said with the disgusted tone as he, rolling his eyes, threw the candle unceremoniously into the abysses of the chasm under of their town.

After this... Dori turned his dismayed and scolding look towards Nori, with the unbelief that his brother had once again fell a victim to his unbelievable urge to stealing items and stolen some elven-made objects back in Rivendell... sarcastically asking from his brother that was his act his thanks for the elves' hospitality.

Nori felt himself a bit embarrassed after his act was uncovered, thanks to the goblins.

"What? Just a couple of keepsakes." Nori said in self-defense.

Once the dwarves were researched, the Great Goblin eyed the dwarf company yet again... a bit surprised to see the dwarves in the Misty Mountain though there's not seen the dwarves attempting to cross the Misty Mountains for a long time since the War of the dwarves and Goblins and their war's final battle at the Eastern Gates of Moria.

"What were you doing in these parts of the Misty Mountains at all? From where you're coming from and to where you were heading to, if may I ask?" The Great Goblin asked from the company.

"Speak quickly, or I'll have your tongues whipped out of your mouths!" The great Goblin ordered as the dwarves remained silent for a couple minutes.

Thorin was about to stand forward to discuss with the Great Goblin with the king to king means, until he was halted by Oin, who stepped forward for him to speak with the Great Goblin.

"Uh, don't worry, lads. I'll handle this." Oin said to his fellow dwarves and turned to face the Great Goblin.

"Oin the dwarf at your service. At first, let me apologize for all of us our sudden trespassing. Secondly, our imagination and our suspicions are unjustified. We sheltered from a storm raging outside in what seemed a convenient cave and unused. Nothing was further from our thoughts than inconveniencing the goblins in any way whatever." Oin explained.

However, the Great Goblin seemed not to be satisfied to this explanation.

"NO TRICKS! I want the truth! Warts as all." The great Goblin impatiently demanded as he whacked with his staff's end to the balcony's floor.

However...

"Let me point out that your majesty have to speak up louder! I can't hear clearly, and now I'm nearly completely deaf. Thanks for your boys who flattened my trumpet." Oin quite rudely complained as he showed to the Great Goblin his flattened trumpet and pointing that without it he cannot hear anything clearly.

This, of course, annoyed the Great Goblin.

"Shut up or I'll flatten more than your trumpet!" The Great Goblin said, as he rapidly and threateningly approached Oin, smashing the carts and the piles of bones out of this way and draw his right arm backwards, squeezing his fingers into the fist and preparing to "flatten" Oin with it in front of the other dwarves.

Oin and the goblins quickly retreated out of the way of the Great Goblin.

And then, Bofur stepped forward and pulled Oin behind of him.

"If it's more information your highness is wanting so badly, then I'm the one you should speak to." Bofur offered.

The Great Goblin immediately stopped and turned to Bofur.

"Hmhm? Go on." The Great Goblin said.

Either thinking what to say ro without thinking, Bofur took the business.

"We were on the road. Well, it's not so much a road as a path. It's not even that, come to think of it. More like a track. Anyway, the point is, we were on this road, like a path, like a track. And then we weren't, which is a problem, because we were supposed to be in Dunland last Tuesday, eh?" Bofur said as he turned to his fellow companions, seeking for their agreement to his claim.

The Great Goblin seemed to be both unimpressed of Bofur's claim and also bored. He also seemed to be muttering something which was closely related to "shut up" order.

Dori saw this clearly and stepped forward to add more information.

"More likely we were on a journey to visit our distant relatives, living on the east side of these truly hospitable mountains." Dori said.

Bofur nodded and turned back to the Great Goblin.

" Relatives, nephews, sister's sons, nieces, cousins and little cousins, some inbreds on my mother's side and..." Bofur continued...

...until the Great Goblin had enough.

"SHUT U ~ UP!" The Great Goblin bellowed that his voice echoed in the entire cavern and scared the goblins near of him.

The Great Goblin then eyes the dwarfs sternly, demanding the more reasonable answers about the reasons of their presence of the mountains, but the dwarfs remained quiet.

"Very well! If they will not talk, we'll make them squawk!" The Great Goblin proclaimed to his goblin people, who answered by the echoing laugh of the enjoyment.

"BRING UP THE MANGLER! AND BRING UP THE BONE-BREAKER!" The Great Goblin ordered to his goblin people, before he turned back to the dwarf company.

"Start with the youngest one!" He added.

The goblins let out the mighty laugh of enjoyment of having the opportunity to torture the dwarves with their hideous torturing machines,

Until one dwarf have had enough of this.

"WAIT!" Thorin shouted, gaining the Great Goblin's attention.

"Who of you dares to interrupt this judgment?!" The Great Goblin said, demanding the one to come out.

His question was immediately answered, as Thorin stepped forward of his company to face the Great Goblin.

The Great Goblin was more than just surprised of seeing the dwarf-lord in his web.

"Well, well, well, whatta surprise!" Look at this, boys. Look who it is." The Great Goblin said with the amused tone.

"Isn't it Thorin, Thorin Oakenshield. The dwarf who earned his nickname by using the oaken branch as the shield and club in the Battle of Azanulbizar four hundred and forty-four years ago." The Great Goblin reminded his people, who mostly let out the angry snarls remembering their war with the dwarfs and losing it... losing at the same time most of their species in the axes of dwarves.

The Great Goblin turned back to Thorin with the hospitable-like manners.

"My deepest apology for such of miserable welcome ceremony and my people's wretched hospitable for you and your fellow companions. Would the small and humble bow enough to satisfy the miserable feelings of the the royal son of Thrain, son of Thror... and the King Under the Mountain?" The Great Goblin said with the apologizing tone and made the mocking bowing-like gesture in front of Thorin, who stood still unhurt by this nor about this mockingly laughing goblins behind and all around of him, waiting for his opportunity to discuss with the Great Goblin once he got tired of this.

The Great Goblin then gasped like he had forgot something very important.

"Oh! But I'm forgetting that you don't have a mountain. And you're not a king... which makes you... nobody, really." The Great Goblin said with the so-called sympathetic tone.

"My deepest condolences, the fellow low lord. I know too well what it is to be so deeply lowered ruler of nothing. Look at for example me. I feel myself so wretched, obese and flabby like a lazy dog, without any respect like it used to be before and living in the self-exile, in this wretched underground shack town, despite my high-ranked title among of my people... with the hopeless dreams for the better life for ourselves and our peoples. My deepest condolences for you, Thorin Oakenshield, really." The Great Goblin added.

Thorin knew too well that as a goblin, the Great Goblin never meant anything what he just said.

Thorin created the fierce look on his face towards the great Goblin, who as in respond smiled slyly back at him.

"Well, there's always something which can make my feel a bit better... torturing your companions is among of them, but there's also another way to make myself feel a bit better." He said with the sly and greed-looking grin.

"I know someone... who has so badly wanted to meet you again. Someone... would pay a pretty price for your head." The Great Goblin added.

"Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, not to worry. Just a head, heh! Nothing attached with it." The Great Goblin mocked, much to his minions enjoyment.

Thorin looked at the Great Goblin a bit confused but also suspicious, because the way how the Great Goblin was speaking about this "someone" sounded ominously familiar.

Even the Great Goblin sensed this.

"Ah, I see that you're yourself aware of this as well. So perhaps you know of whom I speak. And as I said, he wants so badly to meet you again. Last time you met each other, you were both back then in the battlefield of Azanulbizar. An old enemy of yours was his father." the Great Goblin said with the evil grin.

Thorin took the angered look at the Great Goblin, after he mentioned indirectly Azog the Defiler's name, of which he has not heard for over a hundred and forty years. And he did not want to hear that accursed and hated name in the following centuries.

"A giant, pale goblin of Gundabad, astride a white warg."

"His name is Bolg of the North, son of Azog the Defiler."

"And with his father's life-task on his shoulders, he looks forward to the opportunity to meet you again, Thorin, as one of the ones responsible for his father's demise." The Great Goblin said.

Thorin was immediately ready to deny all of this, interpreting every word coming out from the Great Goblin's mouth as the dirty and ineffective lie and attempt to let his spirit down.

"Bolg of the North, along with his father Azog the Defiler, is no more. They were both slain for good in battle long ago... and along with them their filthy life-task is dead!" Thorin said in the hardly-controlled fury, showing his strong unbelief for Bolg of the North having survived from the battle as the Great Goblin claimed so, strongly believing him to be dead as well as his father because the most of the orcs of the Misty Mountains were defeated and slaughtered on the final days of their war at the Eastern Gates of Moria.

"So you think his father's defiling days are done for good, do you?" The great Goblin said in the mocking tone, before he mockingly and evilly laughing turned to his goblin, who served him as his scribe and a messenger, and who had sickly deformed and withered legs, denying from him the ability to walk. And because of that, the goblin was sitting on a pulley with a seat attached to it.

"You! Send word to the pale goblin. Tell him I have found his prize and that he's waiting here for the reunion with him."

After having his king's orders, the goblin released the pulley's hold and chuckling evilly, the goblin disappeared to the dark caves with the word of Oakenshield's presence in the Goblin Town for Bolg of the North.

* * *

 **Trivia  
** \- Azog the Defiler didn't appear in this scene of the film, just after the entire Goblin Town scene, but he was at least mentioned in this scene. That's why I took this scene within.


	4. Chapter 4: Warg attack

CHAPTER 4: OUT OF THE FRY PAN AND INTO THE FIRE.

After Gandalf the Grey had rescued the dwarf company from the execute in the hands of the goblins and killed the Great Goblin in the following battle with the ancient and long lost Gondolin elven sword, _Glamdring_...

...after Gandalf, Thorin Oakenshield and all twelve dwarves had fought their way through and barely managed to escape from the angry hordes of the residents of Goblin-Town to the daylight, to where the goblins did not dared to follow them due to the daylight, which will blind the goblins eyes, which are used to the darkness of the caverns and make them to feel dizzy...

...after Bilbo had managed to get away from in the deeper caverns beneath of the Goblin Town living Gollum with the help of the ability to turn invisible enabling magical ring and rushed after the dwarf company...

...and after Bilbo had finally catch up the wizard and the dwarf company in the forest-covered mountainside near of the goblin caves, and after briefly hesitating to reveal himself to the company even after overhearing Thorin's hurtful words about him, claiming him to sneaking away back home and leaving them on their own at the mercy of the goblins, before eventually deciding to rejoin to the company out of nowhere, much to Gandalf's and the most of the dwarves surprise, relief and delight...

...and with the reasonable explanation enough to his sudden return among them for about his return surprised yet doubtful Thorin – after trying to sneak away and return back home, hurt by Thorin's harsh words about him "having not place among them" after rescuing him from nearly falling off the edge to the deep chasm during of the Thunder Battle of the stone giants just before being captured by the goblins in the cave they were keeping the rain. – by openly admitting his own homesickness and deeply thinking his books, his armchair, his garden and entire Bag End, the home where he belonged, but also admitting the fact that he finally saw how desperate, miserably-living and homesick the dwarves really were, unlike he back in his cozy and comfortable Bag End, after their own home was taken away from them by dragon Smaug and forcing them to live on the road without home, and willingly and willingly declared his willingness to help them with all means to retrieve their own home back, to where they truly belonged as well as he belonged to Bag End, so that they could finally satisfy their own long-lasted homesickness...

...and after when Bilbo was willingly accepted back into the company by the dwarves, deeply impressed and touched of the hobbit's touching speech about home for them.

 **###**

As the night began to blur even more and the sun was retreating behind of the mountains...

To the rocky edge, right above of the forest-filled mountainside where Bilbo and reunited with the dwarves, arrived a new threat but much more worse than the horde of in the close combat easily-defeating underground goblins.

It was Bolg of the North!

The Pale Goblin in the back of the white warg and his hunting party of a few dozen Gundabad wargs and several Gundabad goblin hunters had crossed the mountains and hurried towards the Goblin Town after they were informed in the Goblin King's message for him that Thorin Oakenshield and the dwarf lord's company had been captured by the goblins and were held in captivity just for Bolg.

However, once Bolg had been informed that Thorin Oakenshield with his company had managed to escape from the Goblin-Town, Bolg and his hunting party had hurried to the other side of the goblin caverns to reach to there before the dwarves manages to get out of there.

However, Bolg and his hunting party weren't alone...

Bolg's hunting party was joined by the large band of over dwarf-sized angry goblins, whom were preparing to the hunt of the dwarfs to avenge the death of the Great Goblin with the dwarves' blood.

The goblin had dressed into the armors made out of the thick fur, bones or metallic scale armors and put the fabric headgears to protect their eyes from sunset's last rays before the complete night fall, armed themselves with the goblin scimitars, long spears and bows...

...and yet they had called their own mounts - the evil wolves, similar to Gundabad wargs, but they were gray-furred, their fur was thicker and and more bushy than the wargs' fur and they were a bit smaller than the wargs - and with whom the goblins of Goblin Town often allied themselves at the night times, when the goblins had planned for the nights a Great Raids against the woodmen villages and travelers in the south for the supplies, humans as slaves and both humans and farm animals as food for them and their wolf allies... and now, they had called their wolf allies to join them to the hunt for the escaped dwarf company.

Ironically, Bilbo's sudden reunion with the wizard and the dwarfs had bought enough time for Bolg and his increased hunting party time to get to their current location where the company was at the moment.

"There they are! Near of the backdoor of ours!" The leader of the goblin, sitting in the back of the alpha wolf of the wolf pack, hunters said in the black speech to Bolg, pointing with its finger at the forest-covering mountainside.

Bolg snarled angrily, after catching Thorin's cent floating in the air... but the Pale Goblin was also pleased about the fact that Oakenshield was close and he himself was close of finally having his revenge against Thorin for being one of those responsibility for his father's death back at the battlefield of Azanulbizar.

"Run them down! TEAR THEM TO PIECES!" Bolg ordered his hunting party in the black speech, as he sent a few wargs to go ahead of the pack and hunt the dwarfs down, and they were joined by the over dozen wolves and the Goblin-Town's wolf riders.

The wargs and wolves growled with the bloodthirsty pleasure as they leaped forward, down of the rocky hill and rushed among of the trees after the dwarfs company... loudly howling with the lust of blood and fresh flesh!

The blood-curdling and ominously familiar howling of the wargs and wolves was enough to send Gandalf, Bilbo and the dwarves from the relieved mind to immediately alerted mind... knowing too well what was coming again for them.

"Wargs! And this time the wolves are with them!" Bofur shouted.

"Out of the frying pan..." Thorin started.

"...and into the fire." Gandalf finished.

"Oh, great. Escaping goblins to be caught by those wolf-monsters. What we should do now?" Bilbo complained, as the hobbit had already had more than enough of all this running for the dear life.

"I suggest running. Run and fast. RUN!" Gandalf shouted.

Bilbo and the dwarves did not needed to be told twice, and all dwarves started running away from the wargs and wolves as fast as their already tired legs from escaping the goblins in the Goblin-Town could carry them.

They had a long head start, but they knew that with all fours the wargs and wolves were capable to eventually run them down with ease.

Especially now when the rocky mountainside was going downwards, which just increased the wolf-monsters speed after their prey.

No matter how fast they tried to ran, the howling of the wargs and wolves kept threateningly and quickly approaching them, until they were close enough that the dwarfs and Bilbo, peeking over their shoulders, were able to catch the glimpse of hungrily growling and towards them in between the trees running wolf-monsters and the wolf riders, who were incoming right behind of them!

The wargs and the wolves increased their speed after they caught the dwarves in their sight.

As Bilbo was passing the ship's bow-like rock, one of the wargs suddenly leaped over him after the dwarves.

But the monstrous wolf-beast had caught Bilbo with its eyes and immediately stopped as it landed to the ground and turned around angrily growling and baring its fangs at Bilbo.

Bilbo immediately stopped as the hobbit found it itself face to face with the huge wolf-monster and cornered by it, as the beast started threateningly to approach him, glaring at the hobbit with the hungry glare...

...until the beast launched itself to the attack!

At the very first time without the hesitation, unlike he did with Gollum back in the entrance of the cave and sparing the wretched thing out of the pity after seeing the sad and pity feeling look in its face and eye, Bilbo draw his own elf-made sword out and pointed its tip towards at him charging wolf-monster in self-defense.

The wolf monster accidentally pierced its head to Bilbo's sword!

The speed of the wolf-monster's charge slowed down, but it was still enough to push Bilbo to lean against one of the trees, before the wolf-monster fell to the ground and remained on the ground both motionless and even lifeless... Bilbo's sword still on its head...

...and leaving the hobbit deeply shocked of what he had done, as he realized that the very first time of his entire life, he had actually killed the another living thing with the sword...

...even though what he did was out of the pure self-defense against the bloodthirsty and emotionless monster who wanted to kill him.

All around of him, the remaining wargs and the wild wolves with their goblin wolf-riders had reached to the dwarfs and each of them was chasing each dwarf of the company.

One of the wargs was about to run Balin down, until Thorin caught the warg off guard by cutting off one of the warg's forelegs with the Orcrist, and with Dwalin with his axes, Thorin finished off the wolf-monster with the one mortal stabbing strike right next to the still shocked hobbit.

In next to him, right on his left side, one of the wargs was chasing Ori. And as the beast was about to get to the young dwarf, Ori desperately swung Dwalin's war hammer over his head and striking with it to the topside of warg's skull, crushing it and killing the beast with one swung.

One warg tried to attack to Bofur, who began immediately in self-defense swung his axe (his extra weapon along his mattock-like hammer) towards the wolf-beast's forelegs and caught the beast off from its balance in the high running speed and it fell roughly to the rocky ground.

Bofur was immediately joined by Nori as they both started to finish off the warg before it had the chance to recover, stand up on its feet and re-attack at them by hammering and stabbing its head multiple times.

The rest of the dwarves and Gandalf kept running, until they ended up to the high cliff, from where was not way to escape.

They were trapped!

The high fall was ahead of the, and the wargs, wild wolves and the rest of their pack right behind of them.

But most of the company's dwarves weren't ready to give up to their hunters, even though they were cornered to the cliff without the way to escape and the odds were highly against them.

Gloin, Oin, Bifur and Dori prepared themselves to counter-attack against the goblin's wolves and the wolf-riders, as they began their attack right behind of the wargs.

Dori took one of the wolves down with the deadly swung to its head with his deadly triple-flail, causing the goblin rider to be throw off from the wolf's back and landing roughly to the ground. And as the goblin recovered from the rough landing to the ground, it was about to stand up, only to be finished off by Oin with the hard knock to its head with his long small mace-headed staff.

Gloin charged at one of the incoming wolves and struck his axe to the next wolf's head, killing the beast with the one blow and allowing his brother to finish off from the wolf's back roughly to the ground thrown goblin, as he raised his axe over his head again and beheaded with it another in attacking wolf's back sitting wolf rider's head off from its shoulders...

...as Bifur took care about the wolf by piercing the beast with his hunting spear.

Dori used the wolves attention locked at both Gloin and Bifur as his advantage and tripped the next wolf by swinging from behind of the tree his flail towards the wolf's forelegs, tying his flail's chains around of them and causing the wolf to fall over to the ground and crushing the goblin riding on its back beneath of it.

Dori's act, which caused him to be pulled out from behind of the tree by his own flail he was still holding in his arm after the chains of his flail had wrapped around of the fallen wolf's forelegs and the speed of the wolf had pulled him after to the ground falling wolf, revealed him to another wolf and it attacked him with the laughing goblin on its back.

However, despite being a bit surprised by getting suddenly pulled out from behind of the tree and having lost his flail, Dori swung his sword towards on its hind legs leaping wolf as it attacked him, slashing the wolf's throat open and killing it and throwing this wolf's goblin rider off its back to the ground as it fell to ground.

Gloin finished both fallen wolf and goblin off with the hard killing blow with his ax.

One wolf passed Bifur, as its the goblin rider tried to hit the black-haired dwarf with its goblin scimitar, only to be itself knocked off the back of the wolf by Bifur's hunting spear and with the mortally slash to the goblin's stomach and finished it off quickly with the stabbing blow after the goblin had fell on its back to the ground...

...after which, the wolf went after Dwalin and tried to attack him by snapping its jaws at him. But Dwalin quickly dodged the wolf's jaws and fangs. And as the wolf stopped right next to him, a bit confused by Dwalin's quick dodge, but failed to notice the dwarf from next to it as Dwalin raised his axes and with all his strength and doubled blow of the axes, Dwalin was able to finish off the wolf with the one beheading blow.

Nori killed one of the wolves with the direct throw with the trowing ax, which hit to the wolf's head and the wolf fell over to the ground, throwing the

Remaining wolves and wolf-riders went after Fili, Kili and especially Thorin, knowing well that Thorin Oakenshield was the Pale Goblin's main target and there was still the prize for his head.

The wolf-riders were at first firing the arrows and throwing the spears towards Thorin and his sister's sons as they tried to get away from them...

...until all three eventually turned around to face their hunters.

The goblins and wolves attacked, but however, they soon realized that seizing them turned to be difficult even though they were in the backs of the wolves.

Fili attacked fiercely against one attacking wolf by rising both his swords above of his head, turning quickly around and swung his swords ax-like blades down as the wolf charged at him, slashing two mortal cuts across of the wolf's faces and thus causing the wolf to fall over to the ground yelping in pain and throwing the goblin rider off its back in the feet of Fili. The goblin met its quick end as Fili finished the goblin off by delivering the finishing blow as the straight stabbing strike...

...while Thorin alongside of his sister's son dodged the another attacking wolf's jaws and swung Orcrist from down to up, lethally slashing the passing wolf's throat open from its right side, turned quickly around and cut the next passing wolf's rider in half from the middle...

...and the goblin's wolf mount was killed by Kili, with the clear head-shot with his dwarf-made bow, which he had managed to reclaim from the goblin guards reclaimed during the battle of the Goblin-Town.

Because it was dark and the wolves were moving fast, And besides everything, he had to look out for the attacking goblins' own arrows fired at him which bothered him greatly, it was difficult for Kili to execute the straight and accurate aiming against the upcoming goblins and wolves. And that's why he failed to kill those three wolves and their riders in time before they attacked his brother and uncle.

However, Kili managed to kill even one of the attacking wolves with the straight shot, as the wolf was about to attack from his right flank by leaping from the edge of the rock at him. But Kili preconceived the wolf's attack and as the monstrous beast leaped from the rock to attack him, Kili quickly turned his bow and arrow's direction, quickly aimed at the wolf, drew the string to thigh and fired, causing the arrow to fly into the wolf's mouth and piercing its head through of its mouth...

...but the arrow's airspeed was strong enough to fly through of the wolf's head and end up by piercing the wolf's goblin rider's head as well, killing both of them with the one shot.

Kili managed to kill yet two wolf riders with two direct head-shot before he was completely out of the arrows, and the remaining wolf-riders and the wolves, along with one remaining warg, charged all at the same time at Fili and Thorin, two wolves without their riders against Fili and three wolves and wolf-riders and the warg against Thorin.

"FILI! THORIN! MOVE!" Gandalf suddenly shouted as he pointed his staff's point tip towards the wolf riders and created the bright magical shock wave right before the wolves and the wolf-riders were about to reach with their claws and fangs to Thorin and Fili, blowing the goblins and the wolves away...

...and Bifur finished off the last warg by accurate throwing with the dwarf-made dagger, hitting the warg to the head and causing it to fell over and roll on the rocky ground, until it was finished off by the company's dwarfs.

However...

Even though the first wave of wargs, wolves and the goblin wolf-riders were defeated both narrowly and quite easily, there was more blood-curdling howling to be heard and coming right towards them.

And because they that the entire pack of wargs, wolves and goblins was now coming for them and it was too late to even try to get away from this cliff, where the company was trapped by their hunters...

...there was only one way to avoid getting mauled by their hunters wargs and wolves.

"Hurry! Up into the trees! All of you! Come on!" Gandalf ordered, pointing the trees all around of the cliff.

They were their only hope to avoid to get eaten by the wargs and wolves.

"Hurry up! Climb, Bilbo! Climb! Climb to the tree!" Gandalf called to Bilbo, snapping the hobbit out of his shock.

Gandalf did not need to tell Bilbo twice, as the hobbit nodded at the wizard and quickly rushed to retrieve his sword from the dead warg's head.

But once he grabbed to it and tried to run pass of the warg's dead body, the sword didn't move off the warg's head, pulling Bilbo back.

This make Bilbo to realize that his sword had got stuck in the dead wolf-monster's skull.

"Oh great. This is the moment for the blade to get stuck." Bilbo complained sarcastically.

And without the moment to waste, as the next wave of blood-curdling howling of the wargs and wolves was heard from not so far and it was quickly approaching the cliff, Bilbo grabbed from his sword's handle with two hands and started to pull it off the warg's head.

The blade was indeed stuck...

...and it would take some time, maybe a long time, before he was able to have a new weapon, which however would not be as light and beautiful as this one...

...but the thought to get mauled by the wargs and wolves was much more less pleasant for the hobbit.

So Bilbo put all his the hobbit strength to pull his sword off from the head warg's head, using the dead wolf-monster's head as a support with his left and and eventually with his right foot.

The dwarves around of him quickly hurried up into the trees around of them, helping each others up into the trees or climbing on their own.

Gandalf climbed to the higher branches of the tree, which was closest to the cliff.

And as a new wave of blood-curdling howling was heard in the air by Thorin...

"QUICKLY! THEY'RE COMING!" Thorin shouted and urged his company to hurry.

Dwalin helped his brother Balin to climb up into one of the trees before he climbed with Nori up into one and they helped together Oin to climb up with them.

Fili and Kili quickly climbed together up into another tree.

Bifur, Dori, Gloin and Bofur hurried up into the one, climbing to the highest branches of the tree their picked.

Bombur leaped with all his dwarf strength to hang from the another tree's lower branch and pulled himself up, before he started to climb higher and was accompanied by to the same tree hurried Ori.

Thorin stayed last on the ground to make sure everyone made it up into the tree, before he quickly hurried up into one with Balin.

It was then, when Bilbo finally managed with all his strength to pull the sword off the warg's head.

But as the hobbit finally sighed in relief, he eventually noticed that no one was in the ground by in the highest branches of the trees around of him.

And there was not lower branches for him to reach due to his hobbit size.

Nori noticed this from the tree where he was taking refuge from the incoming warg and wolf pack with Dwalin and Oin.

"Hey, Dori! You've left the hobbit behind again!" Nori shouted to his brother Dori in the same tree with Bifur, Gloin and Bofur.

Despite being a gentleman and mannerly dwarf, Dori let out the frustrated snort.

"I can't be always watching after the hobbits down the tunnels and up to the trees! What do you think I am? A porter?" Dori complained, already frustrated about the earlier when the rest of the dwarfs had blamed him for losing him in the goblin tunnels after their narrow escape from them.

"He'll be eaten if we don't do something!" Bofur said back, deeply worrying for the hobbit.

This argument caught Balin's attention.

"Will you knock it off, lads?! And will somebody of you to give Bilbo a hand up! Hurry!" Balin ordered, ending the useless argument which would cost Bilbo his life.

From all the dwarves in the same tree with Dori, Bofur was the first one to obey Balin and hurriedly climb down from the tree and land to the ground to help Bilbo, because of his fondness towards Bilbo and his full understatement the Hobbit's initial homesickness and his earlier reluctance opinion to continue with the company back in the cave before being captured by the goblins.

And Dori, letting out the one last snort of frustration, before the too obeyed Balin - as a honest, selfless, responsible and caring dwarf - and climbed after Bofur... but once Bofur was on the ground, he remained to the lowest branches.

"Hurry up, Bilbo! Climb on my shoulders! Quick!" Bofur urged, and he did not need to tell Bilbo twice.

The hobbit, by the relieved nod, immediately jumped Bofur's shoulders so that he was able to reach to those branches.

It was then, when the rest of the wargs, wolves and the wolf-riders emerged hungrily barking from the trees.

"Please, hurry, Bilbo!" Bofur urged, as one of the wargs spotted him and increased its speed towards him, barking and growling hungrily.

Bilbo, after seeing the incoming wargs and wolves, hurriedly accelerated his climbing, and Bofur supported him by pushing him up to the branches where Dori was standing ready to receive Bilbo and help him up to the highest branches.

And once Bilbo was in safe...

"Hurry up, Bofur!" Dori urged Bofur as he, along with Bilbo, quickly helped Bofur back up into the tree...

...just when the wargs and wolves, along with their riders arrived to the cliff...

...and narrowly avoiding towards Bofur's leg lunging warg's jaws, before it managed to snap them around of his leg and pull him down from the tree, albeit the wolf-monster managed to crab with its fangs from Bofur's pant's hem and rip the shred out of it...

...and the dwarfs and Bilbo climbed quickly to the higher branches with Gloin and Bifur, far away from the reach of the wargs and the wolves snapping jaws and fangs.

The entire pack of the dismounted wargs and wolves quickly filled the entire cliff beneath of the branches, where the dwarfs and Bilbo took the refuge from them, and the wargs and wolves quickly surrounded all the trees where the company was hanging in for their dear lives.

Only those wargs and wolves, who had the goblin rider on their back, stayed aside.

The goblins then started to mock the dwarfs hanging on for their dear lives in the trees.

"Fly away, little birds! Fly away if you can!" one of the goblins from the Goblin-Town shouted mockingly at the dwarfs, and the other goblins laughed mockingly at that.

Meanwhile...

While watching down at the swarming wargs and wolves beneath of them and around of him in his own tree to find something which could be useful, Gandalf suddenly spotted the yellow-winged moth right next to him resting in the tip of the needles.

And knowing that without the help in any form, they would never survive from this cliff alive and carefully stretched his staff towards it, gently picked it with the tip of his staff and brought the moth next to his faces.

Gandalf quietly whispered something to the moth in Quenya, the ancient elvish language - probably asking the moth to find the help for the company of dwarfs in the grave danger - before he gently blow the moth to fly and it quickly disappeared into the night to search the help for the company...

...leaving Gandalf to hope that the help will not come for them too late.

 **To be continue...  
**

* * *

 **Small Trivia**

This admixture version of the novel's and Unexpected Journey film's _Out of the frying pan into the fire_ versions is going to be three-piece, and this was the first piece.

Features from the novel.  
\- Bilbo's "Escaping goblins to be caught by wolves" quote.  
\- Dori's complaint about himself as "A porter."  
\- Dori the dwarf (in my version both Bofur and Dori) helping Bilbo up to the tree and nearly getting killed by the wolves.  
\- The goblins and wargs/wolves planned night raid against woodmen mentioned.  
\- Goblins "Fly away, little birds! Fly away if you can!" quote.


	5. Chapter 5: The Company vs Bolg

CHAPTER 5: THORIN'S COMPANY VS. BOLG THE NORTH

Wargs and wild wolves had localized all those trees, from of which Bilbo, Gandalf and the dwarfs had took the shelter from their savage hunters and their goblin allies by tracking them down by following the trail of the dwarven scent before finding the scent's sources.

However, the wargs and wolves only circled around of the feet of the tree trunks, making no any aggressive move against the dwarf company and the trees, though several ones of them even leaped on their hind legs to lean with their fore legs against the tree trunks and angrily bark or snap their jaws and fangs at the company in the tree branches.

And in the next of the dismounted pack of wolves and wargs, the mounted wolves and wargs and their Gundabad and Goblin Town goblin riders followed this from aside, snarling and chuckling mockingly at the dwarfs and their very bad situation.

The dwarfs were unable to do anything against their hunters, only to stay out of the reach of their savage dismounted mounts...

...though, who knows, if the goblins armed with the axes eventually gets the idea of cutting the trees down to get to the dwarfs.

However, lucky for the dwarf company, the goblins were far from the idea of cutting the trees down.

Instead of that, the only one thing to which they were focused, was taunting the dwarf company with the taunting song. And the goblins from the Goblin Town were even more and more enthusiastic about it as they moved their wolf mounts around of the trees and raised their flaming torches to upwards to get more motivation for their taunting song.

 _Fifteen birds in five fir trees,_

 _their feathers were fanned in a fiery breeze!_

 _what funny little birds, they had no wings!_

 _Oh what shall we do with the funny little things?_

 _Roast 'em alive, or stew them in a pot;_

 _fry them, boil them and eat them hot?_

 _Burn, burn tree and fern!_

 _Shrivel and scorch! A fizzling torch_

 _To light the night for our delight,_

 _Ya hey!_

 _Bake and toast 'em, fry and roast 'em!_

 _till beards blaze, and eyes glaze;_

 _till hair smells and skins crack,_

 _fat melts, and bones black_

 _in cinders lie_

 _beneath the sky!_

 _So dwarves shall die,_

 _and light the night for our delight,_

 _Ya hey!_

 _Ya-harri-hey!_

 _Ya hoy!_

"GO AWAY _, LITTLE BOYS_!" Gandalf eventually ordered the goblins as they were still singing their taunting song.

"It isn't bird-nesting time Also all naughty little boys that play with fire get punished!" Gandalf added, to which the goblins laughed even more and kept singing.

However, it all stopped like in the wall.

The goblins quit from singing and the wargs and wolves calmed down, as they all turned to look in silence, like showing the respect, the one direction.

A huge white warg emerged from the forest light into the bright moonlight and walked onto the rock, while its a over human-sized pale-skinned goblin holding the huge mace took the look at the dwarfs hanging on the trees.

Thorin was the one whose attention was caught by the Pale Goblin's presence.

"BOLG?!" Thorin whispered in shock, after recognizing the Pale Goblin as Bog of the North, the spawn of Azog the Defiler, whom he had though to be killed along with his father in the battle of Moria a long time ago.

And here he was... alive... in the flesh and right before of Thorin's eyes... with the normal goblins beast-like expression on his face but the deep anger and the lust of vengeance, judging from his heavy breathing in anger, in his eyes... though the pleased smile visited on the goblin's tattered lips.

Bolg's warg growled hungrily as it sniffed the air filled with the dwarf scent.

And its master sniffed the air as well.

"Do you smell it, girl?" Bolg asked in the black speech from his mount as he pets her with his arm from her thick neck mane.

"Oh, yes. That's the scent of the fear!" Bolg said in taunting tone, as he turned his attention and eyes to one certain dwarf in the tree... Thorin Oakenshield, who locked his own eyes filled with the hatred towards the orcs with his old enemy's son's own.

"Ah, Thorin Oakenshield. We meet again, even though we two were hardly able to meet each other long ago. And I'm pleased that you still remember me after all these years..." Bolg said tauntingly.

Thorin couldn't agree more about remembering Bolg even after all these years. Every dwarf in the Middle-Earth remembered too well their all common enemy Azog the Defiler and were also aware of him having the son.

How could any dwarf to forget that after what Azog did to their king Thror.

"...as well as I have not forgotten what you and your filthy cousin Dain Ironfoot did to my father back in Moria!" Bolg angrily added, despising both Thorin and his cousin Dain Ironfoot, who're both responsible for his father's death back in the war in Moria.

However, the sadistically amused and wide grin appeared then on Bolg's tattered lips.

"I smell the fear, mostly coming from you, Oakenshield, which reminds me something... familiar... about your father." Bolg added as he grinned sadistically at Thorin, whose expression turned from the hatred to slowly increasing shock after his long-lost father was mentioned.

"I remember well how your filthy father reeked of it... I saw it with my own eyes as he stepped forward to meet his own doom... I hope that this information helps you to know how it feels to lose the father, Thorin, son of now-dead Thrain." Bolg added tauntingly.

Thorin's expression on his face turned now completely shock.

Long before this Quest and after the war at the gates of Moria, when his father has went missing, Thorin had spent most of his life by searching his father by wandering the wild and following the rumors about the dwarf lord, whose descriptions would possibly fit to his father... with the hope that his father was still alive as he didn't find his body among the fallen from the Battle of Azanulbizar.

But now...

After living with the belief that Bolg has been killed along with his father Azog at the Gates of Moria, and that his father was still alive... Thorin had never expected such of turn of the events happening in his life.

If Bolg was still alive unlike he believed and claimed - though Thorin didn't know was Bolg lying or telling the truth to fill his heart with the desperation - to be the last person alive to see Thrain before he went missing.

And judged from the well-known reaction of the goblins to the presence of the dwarfs, especially the one's who happens to be the spawn of Azog the Defiler, this could only mean one thing about his father...

"I cannot be..." Thorin whispered in shock and sorrow.

Bolg grinned widely and sadistically, taking the great pleasure of discouraging Thorin's spirit.

However, Bolg's expression turned quickly into the pure rage, as the memories of Thorin being partially responsible for his father's death.

"MY PETS!" Bolg called, having the attention of the pack of wargs, before he lifted his father's mace up and pointed with it at Thorin.

"That one is mine... mine only... SLAUGHTER THE REST!" Bolg ordered as he waved his father's mace holding arm over of his head.

And immediately, the entire pack of dismounted wargs and wolves charged forward barking hungrily and with the pleasure... and only mounted wargs and wolves with their goblin raiders stayed behind.

And as the wargs and wolves reached to among of the trees, with their strong hind legs, the wargs started immediately to leap upwards to the trees to reach to the dwarfs and Bilbo, who immediately climbed higher to avoid the snapping jaws of the large wolf-monsters and get out of their reach.

The wolves and wargs had no ability to climb to the trees unlike their goblin allies had, but the wolf-monsters didn't cared about it.

As the wargs kept jumping up to the trees, some of them remained for a shot period of time hanging from the lower branches of the trees while snapping their jaws at the dwarfs in the higher branches.

Angrily of the fact that the dwarfs were still far from their reach, the wargs tore the lower branches off from the trees ans shook them with their own heavy leaps against their trunks in hope that it would cause the dwarfs to lose their balance on the branches and cause them to fall to the ground.

However, the dwarfs fought to keep their balance on the trees despite the wargs efforts, thuis motivating them to double their attacks with ten wargs and wolves to each tree, where the dwarfs were hiding.

"Drink their blood, my pets!" Bolg sadistically encouraged the wargs as he and his goblin minions, snarling and chuckling at the event, watched this from aside with the sadistic pleasure and grin on their hideous faces.

Bilbo looked down in deep shock as he witnessed the aggressive nature of the wargs as one of them lunged to the tree where he was with several dwarfs.

The warg leaped to the tree and remained to hang from its lower branches, and the wolf-monster snapped its jaws around of the branch and savagely tore it off, before it locked its glowing eyes at Bilbo and barked aggressively at him, while snapping its jaws at him.

The warg even tried to climb higher by using its claws, but with no effect. The warg fell back to the ground but left the vicious claw marks onto the trunk.

The wargs kept doing this so long that the trees could no longer bear their weight, which tore the trees off the ground with their roots.

The trees, due to the weight of the warg pack hanging on in them, started to dangerously lean downwards, before their last roots eventually snapped and the trees began to fall over each others (like dominoes) and taking the dwarfs and Bilbo with them.

The dwarfs quickly reacted to this by jumping from their falling trees branches to the another trees branches and kept doing this, while trying to stay in the high above of the wargs enough to avoid getting killed by them.

The trees kept falling over to the ground, until the very last one of them to which Bilbo and all dwarfs had gathered together after their own trees had fallen over to the ground.

And as the last one of them was passing the tree where Gandalf was, the dwarfs quickly jumped from their falling tree's branches to Gandalf's tree and remained to hang from the very last tree's branches...

...while their own tree fell over the cliff and fell down to the chasm...

...thus trapping the dwarfs, Bilbo and Gandalf to the branches of the tree, which from all the cliff's trees was the most dangerously close of the cliff, in between of the angrily barking pack of wargs and wolves and the long fall down into the chasm.

Bolg laughed sadistically at the company's life-threatening situation, which encouraged the goblins to change their mocking song a little bit.

 _Fifteen birds in the lonely tree,_

 _their feathers were fanned in a fiery breeze!_

 _what funny little birds, they had no wings!_

 _Oh what shall we do with the funny little things?_

We say!

 _Off you go little birds, fly off if you can_

 _Off you go little birds, what are you afraid?_

 _Are ya afraid of heights, or the fangs of beast?_

 _What shall you do now, you little, little birds?_

 _Ya hey!_

 _Ya-harri-hey!_

 _Ya hoy!_

 _Prepare a fire, take the skewers_

 _We shall roast them, in the flames_

 _Ya hey!_

 _Ya-harri-hey!_

 _Ya hoy!_

 _Come down little birds, let's just be friends_

 _We just wanna put you, into the skewers_

 _Wanna fleece your feathers, wanna roast you alive,_

 _Just wanna eat you, for our delight_

 _Ya hey!_

 _Ya-harri-hey!_

 _Ya hoy!_

Even Bolg himself found the pleasure from the goblins song... though he was after the dwarfs more because of the certain one's head rather than food.

As the wargs and wolves - even some mounted wargs with their goblins riders joining the party to sing their song even closer to the face of the company - surrounded the tree and some of them shook the three with their own weight...

...with the fear of the fact that the weight of the entire pack may push the remaining tree off the cliff and them with it, Gandalf looked around searching with his eyes something what he can use to buy a little more time...

...until Gandalf got an idea, which was ironically inspirited from the goblins mocking song.

Gandalf picked from the tree branch a single pine cone, and using his magical powers and his staff, Gandalf ignited it into the flames, before he took it into his bare hand and looked down at the goblins and their monstrous wolf-allies.

"You wanted to know what shall we "little birds"do now, didn't you? WELL, THIS!" Gandalf shouted in the thunderous voice, as he threw the pine cone down from the tree towards the wolf and warg pack.

As the fiery cone hit to the ground in front of the wargs, it was followed the flash of the flames, which burned the wargs and wolves faces and caused their pack to scatter nearly in half.

Bolg gasped in surprise that the company was still able to make their counter attack despite their bad situation.

The wolves and wargs backed off hastily as the fire started to spread from the cone to the fallen tree's branches. Though the wargs and wolves were fierce and highly aggressive beasts, they were still afraid of fire, either regular fire or magical fire.

Gandalf then picked more cones, igniting them into fire, before he dropped to each dwarf and Bilbo their own and ordered them to throw them at the pack.

Bilbo and dwarfs obeyed and every one of them threw their own flaming cones at the pack...

...hitting several of them to their heads, causing the cones to burn their faces...

...and the flaming cones ignited the fallen trees into the fire, creating the flaming wall between of them and Bolg's hunters.

The fire also caught to some wargs and wolves fur, ignited them into fire.

The flaming wall eventually forced the wargs and wolves to retreat back to behind of their master.

Witnessing this, Bolg roared in anger at this failure... and Thorin looked at the Pale Goblin with nearly smiling look in his face, knowing that they had bested Bolg and his hunting party for now.

Bilbo and the dwarfs, however, burst into the triumphant cheer after realizing this as well.

However, the joy was too premature.

They were all immediately caught off guard by the sudden shake of the tree.

And to Gandalf's horror, the tree wasn't able to bear the weight of all of them, which started to slowly to pull the tree off from the ground with its roots and the tree began to tilt dangerously backwards... over of the long and life-threatening drop into the abyss.

The tree, luckily but just narrowly, stopped tipping and leaving most of the dwarfs and Bilbo to hang fro their deal life from the tree's branches.

Suddenly, Ori lost his grip and started to fall down, only managing to grab from his brother Dori's leg, nearly pulling him down with him as well.

And due to this sudden move, the tree tilted down even more, threatening to reach to the tree's detachment point.

"STAY STILL! DON'T MOVE OR THIS TREE WILL TILT DOWNWARDS EVEN MORE!" Gandalf ordered sternly.

Both of the brothers, Dori and Ori, remained to hang for their dear life above of the abyss and the long fall: Ori from Dori's leg and Dori from the tree branch, though the weight of both of them slowly pulled them down and caused Dori to slowly lose his grip from the branch.

"Mister Gandalf!" Dori called for Gandalf as he realized this.

Gandalf turned his attention to bellow of him, seeing Dori and Ori in the life-threatening trouble.

And as Dori eventually lost his grip from the branch and was about to fall down with Ori, Gandalf hurriedly stretched his staff downwards to Ori and Dori, who managed to nick in time grab with both of his hands from Gandalf's staff before they fell further to down out of the Gandalf's reach and remained to hang from Gandalf staff for their dear life, as Gandalf tried to pull the dwarfs up.

Despite his orders to stay still, Nori dared to move closer to Gandalf and grab with his own hands from Gandalf's staff in order to help him to help his brothers up.

"HOLD ON, DORI!" Nori yelled to Dori as he started to pull with Gandalf his brothers up, carefully, of course, so that the tree does not tilt to the detachment point.

And from behind of the flames, Bolg witnessed the company's life-threatening situation... with the sadistic grin on his tattered lips.

It was then, when Thorin turned his eyes on Bolg...

...and Bolg, noticed Thorin having locked his eyes on him, locked his own eyes on him as well.

Thorin stared long and in silence at Bolg with cold and dark gaze and with deep hatred, which was slowly but certainly increasing to the high level within his heart, what he felt towards the son of his Grandfather's accursed slaughterer... and towards his father's killer.

...as well as Bolg stared coldly back at Thorin, snorting deeply and strongly in his own hatred he felt towards Thorin for his part of his father's death.

And after some time lasted cold and dark stare at each others between of two bitter enemies... Thorin was unable to hold his anger back and he stood up on the trunk, still his eyes locked at the Pale Goblin in the other side of the flames.

With the attitude of the king, the sword Orcrist in his right hand and the Oaken-branch made shield attached to his left arm, and under of his own irresistible hatred Thorin held towards Bolg for forcing his company into the such of life-threatening situation with no way out except the fall to the death...

Thorin stepped off the trunk and started to slowly and with the still increasing rage to walk towards Bolg through of the fallen and flaming trees.

Bilbo and Balin - and later Gandalf while still helping Nori in trying to help Dori and Ori back to the tree trunk - looked after Thorin as he stepped off the trunk to the cliff and kept walking towards Bolg, both surprised about Thorin's sudden act and Balin mostly concerned about the fact that Thorin's own rage may have drove him to the life-threatening suicide mission and will led him to his own doom in the hands of Bolg.

Bolg was as surprised about Thorin's sudden act...

...but once Thorin stepped to the cliff, he started to increase momentum in his legs until walking turned into running through of the flames in the attacking means towards Bolg.

And once Bolg had realized that he has been challenged by the one partially responsible for his father's death, Bolg created the eager grin on his tattered lips, for having finally the chance to satisfy his long lasted lust for vengeance.

And as an second react of this challenge, he signaled his minions and pets to stand back and let him to finish this.

Keeping his eyes, flaming in deep fury within himself, still locked in the Pale Goblin, Thorin kept running through the flames towards Bolg, approaching with the running speed and step by step faster at the rock, where the Pale Goblin and his White Warg were standing waiting for him.

" _Yes, yes... come to me, Oakenshield!_ " Bolg whispered darkly with sadistically grinning expression on his face.

Once Thorin was so close enough to reaching on him, he raised his left arm and his Oaken shield in front of him and raised his Orcrist over his head ready to deliver the deadly strike on his accursed now-dead enemy's son... with the hatred in the so high level within himself that he panted heavily and angrily.

And once Thorin was close enough to him...

Bolg encouraged his warg to launch itself off the rock and attack the attacking dwarf.

The warg obeyed her master, and while her master roaring in the lust of blood, the white warg lunged off from the rock towards the charging dwarf.

As the wolf monster lunged over Thorin, it swung its fore leg's clawed paw at Thorin and violently tossed the dwarf lord off his feet and to the ground while she and her master on her back landed on her feet to the ground behind of him.

Gandalf was shocked about this... but was forced to turn his attention back into the helping in the end of his staff desperately for their dear life hanging Ori and Dori...

...only to notice that Dori's grip was slowly but threatening certainly about to slip from around of Gandalf's staff due to both of their mixed weights.

Back in the flame-surrounded duel-field between of Thorin and Bolg...

...Bolg turned his warg around and prepared for the new attack against Throrin.

The warg's first attack and the swing of its clawed paw to his stomach had managed to stroke nearly all breath out of Thorin...

...but quickly recovering from the first strike by his fiery anger towards the Pale Goblin, Thorin slowly and heavily panting rose back on his feet to face the Pale Goblin.

But before he had time to take better battle position against the Pale Goblin...

"FOR MY FATHER, OAKENSHIELD!" Bolg roared as he passed Thorin in the back of running and roaring white warg and swung with all his strength increased by his hatred towards Thorin his father's massive mace in his right hand towards Thorin, hitting the dwarf lord to his chest and sending him to violently fly to the ground.

"NOOOO!" Balin cried after seeing his friend falling down to the ground by the impact of Bolg's mace.

Fili and Kili watched in shock from their own tree branches how they uncle fell to the ground

Bilbo also witnessed this brutality with the shocked look in his faces.

And in the air was heard Bolg's roar-like laugh of his victory, because Thorin did not seem to trying anymore to stand up.

Bolg directed his warg to the next to the fallen dwarf lord, before the warg opened her huge jaws and snapped them around of Thorin, making him to shout in pain as he felt the warg's sharp fangs surrounding his body, and the warg lifted him up from the ground in her jaws.

"THORIN! NOOO!" Dwalin cried after seeing his old friend in the fangs of the White Warg, and hurriedly climbed on the trunk and tried to rush to his friend's aid... only for the branch from of wish he was holding for support snapped in half and Dwalin remained to hang from it for his dear life... unable to help Thorin in any way.

Once Thorin was in his warg's jaws as his catch, after the warg had snapped her jaws around of him couple times to have better grip from the dwarf, Bolg directed his warg to turn around so that he can show defeated Thorin as his trophy for the rest of the company... and grinned widely for his triumph over his the most hated enemy.

However, Thorin was not about to give up and surrender himself for Bolg... not just yet.

Thorin swung his sword's pommel towards the warg's face.

The impact caused the warg to yelp and roar in pain, and at the same time he tossed Thorin out of his jaws aside, and Thorin roughly landed on his back to the ground... and after that, he no longer rose to his feet to face Bolg, due to being wounded from the warg's fangs and Bolg's mace's hard and life-threatening impact to his chest.

He just remained to lie on the ground... at the mercy of the orcs and wargs.

Meanwhile...

Bilbo had during of the entire unbalanced duel between of Thorin and Bolg, while witnessing every moment of it in shock, climbed on the tree trunk from his branche and remained to witness the brutality of the unbalanced duel.

Bolg looked at Thorin lying on the ground helplessly and unable to both stand and defend himself.

This was too good opportunity to claim the dwarf lord's head and have his long lasted vindictiveness to be finally, though partially, to be satisfied once Thorin's head is in his hands.

However, Bolg instead eventually turned to one of his goblin hunter minions next to him.

"Bring me the dwarf's head." Bolg ordered calmly and patiently.

The goblin hunter snarled in the pleasure, before he obeyed his master's orders and dismounted from the back of his warg and started to walk towards helpless Thorin with the goblin scimitar on his hand.

After witnessing this, Bilbo realized that he needed to do something due to being the only one from the entire company who can actually do something.

So, Bilbo draw out his own elven sword, which blade glowed in blue at the presence of the orcs, out into his hand.

And though the hobbit a bit hesitated to do anything, being aware too well that what he was forced to do in order to do something...

...Bilbo took the deep breath before he took his step off the trunk.

Meanwhile, the goblin hunter kept approaching on the ground helplessly and disarmed lying Thorin step by step, while his master waited patiently and unexpecting any interference coming to this long-waited moment...

...until the goblin was right next to him.

The goblin placed his scimitar over Thorin's throat in order to aim his finishing strike.

Thorin noticed this as he felt the sharp side of the blade on his throat and looked up at the goblin who wielded the blade.

Thorin reacted this by trying desperately reach with his hand to the Orcrist, which unfortunately was lying on the ground too far away from his reach.

The goblin then grabbed from his scimitar's handle with both of his hands and raised his scimitar over his head fro the final blow...

However...

Bilbo suddenly appeared out of nowhere and tackled the goblin before it managed to carry out his finishing blow against Thorin...

...much to both Thorin's and Bolg's shock and surprise.

Though Bilbo's sudden attack front the goblin's flank had caught the goblin hunter off guard, the goblin quickly recovered from the surprise and shook the smaller hobbit off him, before the goblin tossed Bilbo aside, causing him to fall over on his back to the ground.

The goblin quickly get up and crawled to Bilbo, attempting to kill him with his own scimitar.

However, the hobbit reacted more quicker than the goblin managed to carry out his finishing blow to the hobbit.

Bilbo stabbed with his own elven blade to the goblin's shoulder and stabbed him again, causing out of pain snarling goblin to roll over on his back to the ground.

But before the goblin was able to stand back on his feet, Bilbo quickly crawled over him and began to stab the goblin to the chest multiple times, causing the goblin to snarl more louder in pain, before it fell to the ground motionless.

Thorin watched still in surprise from aside as Bilbo killed the goblin, before the struggling to stay awake was too much for him that Thorin lost his conscious and fell motionless - and even seemingly lifeless - to the ground.

Once Bilbo had ensured that the goblin was truly dead, Bilbo hurriedly pulled his sword out of his and rushed in between of motionlessly lying Thorin and Bolg, standing protectively in next to the fallen dwarf lord and preventing Bolg, though desperately, who still looked at the halfling with the surprised look in his face, from reaching to him.

The odds turned from bad to worse for Bilbo, as several other goblins in the back of wargs and the wolves rushed to their master's side.

As Bilbo looked nervous in front of the goblins and their wolf monsters, Bolg took the wide sadistic grin again on his tattered lips... greatly believing Bilbo to be only minor barrier between of him and his lifelong goal.

And even took amuse of that Bilbo tried to keep them away by swinging his sword at them.

And with that...

" _Kill him!_ " Bolg ordered his goblin minions, who encouraged their warg and wolf mounts to move forward.

Bilbo backed off a little bit, looking nervously at the wargs and wolves staring at him with their glowing eyes and snarling angrily at him.

But despite this, Bilbo still held his ground.

But when the wargs, wolves and their own masters were about to attack Bilbo...

...they were suddenly attacked to their unguarded flank and caught off guard by Fili and Kili, who had sneaked to their flank, undetected, and emerged out from the flames and armed with their swords.

Bilbo was both surprised and relieved about of the brothers sudden arrival to the scene.

The brothers attacked shouting the dwarfs war cries to the wargs and started to swung their blades at the wargs heads, rapidly, repeatedly and in the rage, and miraculously forcing the goblins, wolves and wargs to retreat.

One of the wolves fell mortally wounded to the ground, slain by Kili's sword...

...and one goblin in the wolf's back was slayed by Kili, who killed the goblin hunter with the hard lateral swung aimed to the goblin's unguarded stomach.

And after the brothers, Dwalin also joined on their side and swung his war hammer towards another warg, crushing its skull.

One of the goblins, used the dwarfs attack as his advantage and directed his warg to attack Bilbo and Thorin.

However, Bilbo had already spotted that goblin and joined to the dwarfs to the close combat against the goblins and wargs, attacking to the certain one goblin's warg as they charged at him.

Bilbo swung his elven blade at warg, causing two cuts to its head and stopping the wolf-monster's charge, until Bilbo hurriedly raised his sword up and luckily blocked the goblin hunters attack with his own scimitar.

Bilbo was then caught off guard by charging Bolg and his white warg.

The warg had no time to stop its charge, before its head collided with Bilbo and Bilbo remained to hang for his dear life from the white monster's head.

Angered by this, Bolg pulled his mount's head upwards, thus causing the white warg to shook Bilbo off her head and toss him roughly over on his back to the ground.

While the rest of the hunting party's mounted and dismounted wargs and goblin hunters surrounded Fili, Kili and Dwalin, who still kept fighting back and started to approach them from every side in intention to attack them...

...Bolg directed his warg at Bilbo lying helplessly on the ground and sadistically urged his mount to tear the halfling apart and feast with him, causing Bilbo to crawl backwards away from the warg, who kept threateningly approaching and hungrily snarling at the hobbit.

The situation was very bad for the company.

And the defeat in the hands of their hunters was certain.

And all hope of the company was lost.

 **To be Continue...**

* * *

 **Small Trivia**

Two versions of the goblin song "Fifteen Birds." One original and one edited by me.


	6. Chapter 6: Eagle Rescue

CHAPTER 5: EAGLE RESCUE

The situation was very bad for the dwarf company.

Bilbo was cornered and about to get killed by Bolg and his white warg and a few others wargs, wolves and the goblin hunters.

Fili, Kili and Dwalin were surrounded by the rest of the pack of wargs, wolves and the goblin hunters, blocking their any change to escape from the circle of evil wolf monsters and to fight them back.

And Gandalf and the rest of the dwarf company - especially Dori and Ori - were hanging for their dead lives from the branches of dangerously backwards and above of the chasm bent tree on the edge of the cliff.

And the defeat in the hands of their hunters was certain.

And all hope of the company was lost.

But when all hope was seemingly lost...

...Gandalf, who was still holding from his staff and through of it for their dear lives hanging Dori and Ori in order to help them up, suddenly spotted the same moth he had sent to search for help for him and the company.

"About time." Gandalf whispered, because he knew that the help was always coming when the same moth appears right before his faces to inform about the help's arrival.

But suddenly, Dori wasn't any more able to hold from the end of Gandalf's staff and his fingers slipped from it...

...and, to Gandalf's and Nori's shock, the dwarfs fell down to abyss to their certain deaths.

However, the huge eagle-like flying creature happened to fly right beneath of Dori's and Ori's fall, and the creature cut their fall by taking both badly from the fall shocked and from the creature's sudden appearance surprised dwarfs onto its back and carried them away.

And more similar creatures appeared into the air space around of the flaming cliff.

Gandalf was finally able to sigh in relief.

His calling for help had indeed worked and called the small flock of the Great Eagles of the Misty Mountains, led by Gandalf's old friend and the lord of the Eagles, Gwaihir himself, to help the company in the biggest distress.

The dwarfs were surprised about the Great Eagles sudden appearance... as well as were Bolg, and his hunting party and the goblins of the Goblin Town.

As Bolg and couple wargs of his hunting party, one dismounted and one mounted by the goblin hunter, were about to attack Bilbo, they were immediately halted back by suddenly heard the eagle's echoing and sharp scream... before one of them suddenly grabbed the dismounted warg into his claws and lifted the wolf monster off the cliff before the warg itself had time to react...

...much to Bilbo's surprise and shock... and the white warg's anger, but all the white wolf monster was able to do was only growl in anger at the eagle as it took one of her pack members with it.

And then, the rest of the Eagles attacked Bolg's hunting party and the goblins of the Goblin Town as well all together.

One of them flew against one of the trees still standing aside of the scene and with its own weight, the great bird pushed the tree over to the ground and it trapped beneath of it several wolves and wargs, including their riders.

Some of them lunged from the sky towards the goblins and the wolf-monsters, extending their legs and opening its talons and claws forwards and grabbing with them every fly over the edge couple wargs, either dismounted or the mounted by their goblin riders and lifted them off the cliff before they dropped them to their deaths.

Some of them grabbed also four the large wolves into their claws or two handful of Goblin Town's goblins on the foot - killing in the process a few of goblins with their claws - and the eagles did to them the same thing what they did to Bolg's hunting party.

Several of them gathered together before their attack, and flying above of the flames, the Eagles beat harder their wings causing the powerful gust of winds, which forced the flames to spread into the wargs, wolves and the goblins, burning both the goblins and the wolf-monsters very badly and driving them whimpering in pain away.

And some of the Eagles bent their heads down and even grabbed some goblins from their heads into the killing squeeze between of their beaks at the same time as they grabbed either two wargs, four wolves and two handful of the goblins into their claws, lifting them upwards and dropping them to their deaths.

Bolg witnessed from aside the Eagles destroying his hunting party, which caused heavy losses both to his pack at the Goblin Town's goblins and snarled in anger.

Some of the Eagles also started to circle around of dangerously above of the chasm bent tree... like they were trying to locate every dwarf's and Gandalf's location in the tree before starting to pick them from the tree... before it would eventually give up to the weight of the company.

The Eagles also broke completely the surrounding circle from around of Fili, Kili, Bilbo and Dwalin by picking the wargs and wolves with their claws, smashing the monstrous wolves to the ground with the heavy and powerful gust of winds from their heavily beating wings... and killing every single Eagle's attack two handful of goblins by mortally tearing their faces with their claws and forcing the rest to retreat into the woods... where the trees prevented the Eagles from reaching all of what was left from Bolg's hunting party and the Goblin Town's goblins.

And then, one of the Eagles flew towards motionless and lifeless-looking Thorin lying on the ground, extending his legs towards Thorin and wrapping his clawed toes around of the fallen dwarf lord and lifted him up from the ground with him...

...during of which, Thorin's oaken shield slipped from his arm and fell back to the cliff.

With the relief, but also worried about Thorin's state, Fili, Kili, Bilbo and Dwalin looked after Thorin as he was carried away by the Eagle...

...far away from Bolg's reach.

"NOOOO!" Bolg roared in anger that his revenge upon Thorin Oakenshield had been denied by the arrival of the Eagles... but also by Fili, Kili, Dwalin and especially Bilbo's interference.

But, before Bolg had even time to turn his attention to finishing them off, one of the Eagles flied over the cliff, driving the goblins and the monstrous wolves out of its way and extended its clawed legs... towards Bilbo.

After realizing the fact that the eagle was coming straight to him, Bilbo was left shocked and nearly paralyzed after having witnessing that what the Eagles had already done to the goblins, wargs and the wolves... and fearing that the Eagles might not differentiate the hobbit from the goblins.

However, he had not time to react before he was grabbed by the eagle, lifted from the cliff and almost immediately dropped down to the chasm...

...only to be caught from the mid-fall by the another Eagle, who took Bilbo on his back.

Blibo was left stunned that the first time in his life, he was actually flying in the back of one of the legendary Great Eagles of the Misty Mountains, of which he had only heard in the tales back in the Shire.

And besides, Bilbo wasn't used to ride in the back of the Great Eagle, so he took the firm grip from the Large Bird's back.

" _Don't pinch! You need no be frightened like a rabbit._ " The Eagle said to Bilbo, as he felt a bit uncomfortable about the firm grip around of his back feathers.

And after the Bilbo and Thorin - along with Dori and Ori - were rescued by the Eagles and their hunters were driven away into the woods to have cover from the Eagles attacks upon them...

...one of them landed to the cliff, straight above of two at Fili and Kili charging wargs and their goblin riders, trampling the wargs and their riders beneath of his clawed talons and weight, killing them and saving the dwarf brothers lives.

The Eagle quickly bowed down and gestured with the nod of his head the dwarf brothers to quickly climb on his back.

The Eagle did not need to tell to Fili and Kili twice and the brothers, helping each others, climbed onto the Eagle's back.

And once the dwarfs were on his back, the Eagle spread his wings and took off into the air, carrying the dwarf away from the cliff.

And then, the Eagles started to pick up the rest of the company from the tree's branch.

One of the grabbed to Balin and Nori with its clawed talons and took them off from near of the tip of the tree.

Another one grabbed from Bombur, but accidentally caused Bifur to lose his balance and fall off from the tree's trunk...

...but, fortunately for Bifur, the black-haired dwarf landed safely onto the back of the Eagle that was flying beneath of the bent tree.

Fourth one of the Eagles then, flying from down to upwards, grabbed to Gloin and Oin, taking them with them...

...and the last one grabbed onto the trunk climbing Bofur and back to the tree rushing Dwalin and took them with him.

Only Gandalf was left on the tree...

...until the tree bent too much downwards that it eventually separated with its roots off the edge of the cliff and started to fall down into the chasm.

And as it did, Gandalf jumped off from it and started to fall down.

Until he landed straight to the back of the Gwaihir himself.

And once all thirteen dwarfs, the hobbit and the wizard were all rescued save either in the Eagles backs or in their claws...

¨...Gwaihir with Gandalf on his back flied ahead of the Eagle Flock and led the Eagles and the dwarf company with them into the night sky.

Bolg with over dozen survived goblin hunters and mounted and dismounted goblin hunters emerged from the wood... only to witness that the Eagles were already leaving from the scene, and the dwarf company with them... especially Thorin Oakenshield.

Bolg could not believe what just happened... Thorin was so close of his fingers and he was himself so close to fulfill his desire for revenge... and now his prey had gotten away, far away from his own reach.

"NOOOOOO! OEAKENSHIELD!" Bolg bellowed into the night sky in anger, frustration and desperation as he watched after the Eagles along with the survived members of his hunting party...

* * *

 **Small trivia**

The quote " _Don't pinch! You need no be frightened like a rabbit._ " is from one of the Eagle from the book.


	7. Chapter 7: Bolg and Necromancer

CHAPTER 7: BOLG AND NECROMANCER

That night

Bolg was standing alone near in the border of the night dark woods.

The large pale goblin was looking out of the woods to open plains, where near a forest border was standing a lonely house a short distance away from him.

The house, which was surrounded by the large hedge.

The house, which was surrounded by the few trees all around of it.

The house, which was by it's size much larger than any regular human farming cottage and which roof is like grassy fields.

The house, which is surrounded by the dozens and dozens of the large bee hives.

Bolg had arrived to the house during of his hunt for the company of the dwarfs.

Since the dwarf company's narrow escape from his hands, thanks to the sudden Eagle attack, he and his hunting party's less than two dozens from the Eagles survived goblins and wargs had been tirelessly and without stopping riding a number of miles within days through of the steep cliffs and mountainsides, fields and forests in order to re-track down the dwarf company and get to their tracks.

However, when they were about to get to their tracks and gaining on them, they were suddenly halted by the mighty bellow echoing in the air space of the forest.

This sudden bellow had prevented him and his hunting party from reaching the dwarf company until they had reached to the house he was at the moment watching under the cover of the dark night.

And there was one another thing, which was holding him back from reaching to the dwarfs necks.

The gigantic black bear in the border of the woods, a small distance away from him... and between of him and the company.

The gigantic and scarred bear walked around in the woods, sniffing the air and growling and snorting loudly and menacingly, as if the beast would have caught the scent of the unwanted visitors nearby... and which made the beast even more angrier.

Bolg was aware of the truth under of the skin of this beast.

It was one of the skin-changers, the people he and his father Azog the Defiler had used for the sport to torment when they came down from the northern mountains. They had together hunted down the skin-changers for sport and captured and enslaved dozens of them - not for work for his father but rather to torture with the unspeakable ways the skin-changers to the death in their cages and in the torture equipment amusement.

Thought that he and his and his father had slaughtered through of the torture the skin-changers to the extinction, he was rather surprised that there was still one still alive.

One of them had somehow managed to escape the terrible fate of the others from the goblin dungeons.

And because this individual was probably the last of his kind and suffered as much of all torture as his now-dead kind in the hands of him and his father, the external and internal scars and in his heart burning anger towards the goblins - as well as the life as a hermit - have caused this beast to increase its size and his behavior to turn into more aggressive.

And in the sight or presence of the goblins, the true causers of his people's near-extinction, its size will grow even larger and Its size may grow larger and its already increased animal aggression will turn into berserker-like rage and the lust for blood.

Bolg had already witnessed this.

He and his hunting party had accidentally crossed paths with this beast when they had tried to keep moving after the first mighty bellow.

White the others of his hunting party had escapes from the beast in fear, Bolg had stopped and seen how the beast had attacked couple of his goblin hunters.

One of them with his mount the beast had swung aside with its massive paws and killer claws against the nearby tree, causing the warg to snap its snipe and the goblin to break its neck, killing them both.

Another warg was brutally pinned down to the ground by the beast with one paw, and though the warg had tried to desperately to fight back the beast with its claws and teeth, the wolf monster was eventually crushed to death under of the beasts massive paw...

...and after killing the warg, the beast snapped its massive jaws around of the now-dead warg's goblin hunter's body, killing the goblin by shaking his head, and eventually ended up of eating the now dead goblin by raising his head up and allowing the goblin to slip deeper into his mouth and to the throat.

And after eating the goblin, the beasts bellowed at Bog one last time as the warning, before it had returned back to where it had came from and took also the bodies of the dead warg and goblin with him.

Knowing the true and brutal power of the beast, Bolg found himself unable to attack the dwarf company once the beast was in his way.

Bolg was soon joined by one of his hunting party's goblin lieutenants named Narzug, the gray-brown skinned goblin, who was mostly topless goblin and who had wrapped his messy brown hair into messy ponytail behind of his head, and yet having the white print of Gundabad in his faces.

"Let's attack them now, master. Let's cut the dwarf filths throats while they sleep." Narzug suggested in the black speech to his master.

Though Bolg was more than just agreed with Narzug's an attractive suggestion, due to his deep lust for finish his unfinished vengeance-business with Oakenshield, who was at the moment hiding in the house like coward...

"NO." Bolg responded loudly and sternly.

Bolg then turned around and walked back into the darkness of the woods, much to Narzug's confusion.

"The beast is standing in guard." Bolg added.

After the attack of the Eagles, which had caused most of his hunting party to get slaughtered, Bolg had begun to be more cautious with the powers allying with the wandering dwarf company, in order to not lose too many goblin hunters anymore, or else too thinned number of his men would force him to back off from this hunt temporary in order to have more hunters to keep hunting the dwarf company.

Narzug paid one quick look at the beast in the small distance away from him and his master, before he went after his master.

Bolg's pack was waiting for their leader in the end of the small distance, probably Bolg had left most of his pack to further away from the house, so that the beast guarding the house would not catch the scent of all of them and interpret a large pack as an attempt to attack.

While waiting for their leader, couple of wargs had engaged each others into brief fight, where they growled and snapped their jaws at each others, and the other goblins of the pack witnessing this were like encouraging them to go into the physical fight with the fangs and claws.

However, the fight ended soon as Azog and Narzug returned back to them.

"LISTEN UP!" Bolg growled, demanding the attention.

"We'll wait here, 'till the dwarf scum comes out from that house. And then, we will kill them on the road." Bolg informed to his hunting party.

The other goblin hunters in the backs of their warg mounts only nodded as agreement to their leader and were about to get themselves ready once the dwarfs comes out from the house and keep moving on the road.

Suddenly, they heard the rapid shaking of the nearby bushes leaves like someone was coming through of the bush.

The sudden sound alarmed the goblins, wargs and Bolg himself... and no wonder, because they were still the bear-beast's territory.

The goblin hunters hurriedly raised their scimitars, spears and bows and get ready to defend themselves whatever was coming towards them from the bushes.

All the wargs - as well as Bolg's own white one - started to growl and bark at the coming direction of the sounds and took the attack-ready positions.

Bolg also raised his mace and get himself ready for the fight.

And it did not took for long when the causer of the sounds emerged out from the bushes.

However, instead of the foe, the newly arrived stranger was the goblin riding on the back of the large black warg.

This goblin, like Bolg, was roughly human-sized or even bigger - perfectly rivaling Bolg's own massive size -, muscular and pale-skinned goblin. However, there was differences between of this newly arrived goblin and Bolg. This goblin had the long and blood-red beard and pale-white hair and he wore the far more barbaric-looking goblin armor.

He wore underneath the heavy goblin-made armor shirt and over of it a thick layer in the blood dyed warg's fur, and on which the goblin wore from either the warg's or horse's rib cage made hideous chest armor. He also wore from the chain armor made wide collar around of his neck, as well as the black shoulder guards with the claw-like curving spikes and he had from the scale armor made hip guards. And like with Bolg, this goblin had also the metal plates attached to his head's topside's flesh. And as his weapon, the goblin wielded the massive and vicious-looking spiked goblin-mace and carried the the scimitar in his back.

The barbarously and heavily armored goblin halted his warg... right before of Bolg's faces.

The large black warg growled aggressively and snapped for a couple times its jaws in front of Bolg, who did not pain any attention to the warg's behavior... but more likely to its rider on its back.

"Brother chieftain Brutish, what is it?" Bolg sternly asked from the goblin called by the name Brutish, who happened to be both the goblin war chieftain under Bolg's command and Bolg's brother-in-arms.

Brutish turned his warg mount's head away from Bolg, before he turned back to his brother-in-arms.

"The word has been spread and the forces are gathering in Mount Gundabad and Dol Guldur. The master has summoned you back to Hill of Sorcery, brother." Brutish reported with the black speech to his brother-in-arms.

After hearing this latter one, Bolg's faces hardened with the deep anger, realizing that he had been forced to call himself off the hunt of the dwarf company now when he was summoned by the _Ultimate Evil_ hiding in the ruined fortress of Dol Guldur.

 **###**

Dol Guldur, the ancient and a massive fortress, now in ruins and embracing the dark, evil and hideous appearance, with up into the skies towering dilapidated towers, and full of the labyrinthine dark tunnels and stairs, pits, caverns, dark chasms full of the hanging cages full of the skeletal remains of the previous prisoners, dungeons and torture chambers and which is heavily overgrown with menacing brambles and thorny trees.

And there was heard with the deep, in the air above of the fortress echoing and whispering tone the ancient and dark words from inside of the ruined fortress.

 **" _Ash nazg durbatulûk, ash nazg gimbatul, ash nazg thrakatulûk, agh burzum-ishi krimpatul!_ " **

Which were quiet to the others but audibly for everyone who served the powers of darkness.

The fortress itself had been for a centuries abandoned... but not anymore.

The massive herds of the goblins - dwarf-sized, human-sized and even troll-sized ones - were swarming out of the dark forests and they entered inside of the evil fortress' caverns and tunnels from everywhere... either attracted or summoned by the dark voice inside of the fortress, and the massive number of the goblins filled soon nearly every corner of the fortress

Along of the massive herds of the goblins, out of the dark forest wandered inside of the fortress the dozens of large packs of the wild wargs and large wolves, which also were either either attracted or summoned by the dark voice of the fortress.

The air space of the fortress was also swarming by the gigantic flock of the black vampire bats of Dol Guldur.

While the armies of the goblins, wargs, wolves and bats were gathering within Dol Guldur's ruins, newly but quite reluctantly arrived Bolg made his way to the ruined bridge in the open area in the middle of the fortress.

"Master? You called me?" Bolg bellowed to the air space of the fortress, as he remained to wait in the end of the bridge.

It did not took long before Bolg got the company.

The necromancer of Dol Guldur himself.

The necromancer emerged out of the darkness of the fortress as a shadowy figure covered by the unnatural and quite monstrous-looking dark foggy cloud floating in the air... before he remained floating right in front of Bolg.

"Indeed." The necromancer responded with the deep, quite throaty and yet whispering-like voice.

"We grow in numbers. We grow in strength. When the time has come to strike, you shall lead my armies to victory." Necromancer said to Bolg.

Necromancer had been for a while summoning the thousands and thousands of goblins of the Misty Mountains into the fortress of Dol Guldur to form from them the massive army, which would allow him to conquer the whole Rhovanion under his domination when the time is right... and he had summoned Bolg, as a highly intelligent, a highly strategic, tactical and an excellent leader and as the son of the now-dead goblin king Azog the Defiler, to lead his armies to the victory over the free peoples, the elves, dwarfs and men of Rhovanion.

However, Bolg had some questions for his master.

"What of Oakenshield, master?" Bolg said, trying to keep his already frustrated self cool and wait patiently the answers for his question.

However, Necromancer did not answer, but instead he changed his position and place to between of Bolg and the doorway in the another side of the ruined bridge.

"War is coming." Necromancer declared.

Bolg grew even more frustrated, impatient and angrier, knowing that this new task would take his attention completely away from his mission in life, and obsession, to have finally Thorin Oakenshield's head to partially avenge his father's death.

"You promised me his head!" Bolg argued, angrily reminded Necromancer that he had promised Thorin's head as his reward of his service to him and openly showing his master his disappointment that he had denied from him his chance to avenge his father's death.

And as an response, Necromancer charged at Bolg and the dark foggy cloud surrounding his shadowy figure flew through of him, causing the shock wave of his fly to push Bolg slightly backwards.

"Death will come to all ANYWAY!" Necromancer said to the frustrated pale goblin, and with that, the necromancer departed and disappeared back into the fortress from where he had came to meet Bolg, leaving the frustrated and angry pale goblin to behind to their meeting spot to reluctantly swallow his defeat.

And after the meet between of Bolg and the Necromancer was over, Narzug and a few other goblins emerged from the doorway and looked at their leader waiting for the orders.

"Do we call off the hunt, master?" Narzug asked from his master, sounding equally disappointed as his master if they were forced to call of the hunt of the dwarf company.

However, though Bolg was more than reluctant to give up his mission in life so easily to obey the necromancer's orders to start preparing his armies for upcoming war, he was unable to go against his masters orders by brute force under penalty of death.

"Maybe I am... but somebody else does not!" Bolg eventually said and turned around to his minions.

"BRUTISH!" Bolg called his brother-in-arms.

Brutish soon emerged out of the darkness to the doorway leading to the ruined bridge and to Bolg, pushing forcefully the smaller goblins out of his way in the process, as he walked towards his goblin king/brother-in-arms and met him in the middle of the bridge.

"Yes, brother?" Brutish growled.

Bolg did not wasted his time but immediately started to explain to his brother-in-arms that why he had called him to him.

"I have a task for you, brother." Bolg started.

The red-bearded goblin waited patiently his brother-in-arms to name the certain task he was about to grant to him.

"Do you still thirst for Dwarf-blood?"

"Do you still want to slaughter the dwarfs to avenge your wounds you received from them back in Moria?"

Brutish growled bloodthirsty and even more angrily, as the red-bearded giant goblin recalled in his mind the memory of his fierce and merciless duel with one of the dwarf soldiers with the Mohawk (Dwalin), who defeated him back in the battle of Moria and severely wounded him with couple heavy and nearly killing strike from the axes to his back, but hand narrowly survived both from the death and the battle.

While growling angrily and out of the lust for Dwarf-blood - and in addition of all, growing even more impatient to get out there to slaughter more dwarfs to have their head scalps and drink their blood - Brutish nodded to his brother-in-arms meaning "yes."

"Good." Bolf smirked.

"There's a company of thirteen dwarf scum, I've been hunted from the other side of the mountains to here. They're heading to the east, to the Lonely Mountain. I want you to track them down and hunt them down tirelessly and without stopping." Bolg explained, before he kept a small pause before he continued.

"And among of those scum is the one dwarf lord, who is partially responsible of my father's death, Thorin Oakenshield they call him." Bolg added.

Brutish growled louder and even more angrier.

As well as the all Middle-Earth dwarfs knew and hated Bolg's father Azog and forever despised and cursed his name for his all the dwarfs of the Middle-Earth shocking and unspeakable defamatory act of murder against their king in exile, Thrór, all the goblins of the mountains equally and bitterly hated, despised and cursed those ones responsible of the king Azog the Defiler's death and wanted nothing more than his head to be pierced into the spear.

And Brutish wasn't exception.

"I want you to hunt down this filthy dwarf lord and bring to me his head, with or without body, I don't care which way... AND YOU'LL BE FREE TO SLAUGHTER AND **EAT** THE REST OF THAT COMPANY!" Bolg declared.

Brutish responded to this with the loud and hungry growl.

"I'm on my way, brother!" Brutish said.

"Good! Take the remains of my hunting party and with them as many a new hunters as you need and and get out of here to hunt... and don't **fail** me!" Bolg added.

Brutish nodded to his brother-in-arms, before he turned around and disappeared into the darkness with the remains of Bolg's original hunting party to recruit more fresh goblin hunters to the hunt and get the wargs ready for the long trip and hunt for the dwarf company.

During of this, Bolg made his way one of the ruined fortress "balconies" to witness as his brother-in-arms departed from the dark fortress of the Hill of Sorcery in the back of the large black warg and was followed by remains of Bolg's hunting party and two hundred fresh goblin hunters and wargs.

* * *

 **Small trivia**

In case of Brutish the goblin, I used as an inspiration one of the alternate designed versions of Bolg - whose was later used as prison warden in the third Peter Jackson's The Hobbit film.

Originally, I planned to make Brutish Azog's blood and thus Bolg's brother, but I eventually abandoned the idea and I decided to make Brutish instead Bolg's brother-in-arms in my fanfiction.


	8. Chapter 8: Gandalf vs Bolg

CHAPTER 8. GANDALF VS. BOLG

Gandalf and Radagast soon exited from the tombs of the hills of Rhudaur, after finding out that the tombs of the _NINE_ servants of the Great Evil, who were buried to there and sealed with the powerful spells forever after the evil kingdom Angmar fell a long time ago, had been broken and from the solid stone carved coffins inside of the tombs were empty.

"Why now, Gandalf? I don't understand." Confused Radagast asked from Gandalf as they exited from the hills.

"Is not that obviously clear, Radagast? Judging from the broken tombs and the "spirit of the dead" you saw in your last visit in Dol Guldur, the Ringwraiths have been summoned to Dol Guldur. " Gandalf explained, as he walked after Radagast.

"But that's impossible, Gandalf. It cannot be the Necromancer. A human sorcerer is not capable of to summon such of evil like the Ringwraiths." Radagast protested.

Gandalf then stopped and remained still.

"Who said that he is a human?" Gandalf said with the suspicious tone...

...remembering well that back in the White Council held in Rivendell, both he and Radagast had tried to convince the other Council members about the possible threat of the Necromancer Radagast had found from his last visit in Dol Guldur, using from there found Morgul Blade - which was a long time ago buried along its last owner - as evidence of the Necromancer true identity, because in this world, there was no one else who could hold the control over such of evil like _NINE_ , less powerful enough to break the spell sealing their tombs and keeping them from entering this world forever...

...only their claims and evidence to be rejected by Saruman the White, who ended up insulting Radagast and claiming the evidence to be fake and the "so-called" Necromancer to be a mere human sorcerer playing with the dark magic... also rejecting the existence of the power the summon the spirits of the dead, even though Radagast had seen with his very own eyes and even faced such of spirit in the ruins of Dol Guldur.

Hearing this, Radagast immediately stopped and turned around to look at Gandalf, who was looking over to the horizon.

"But didn't Saruman...?" Radagast was about to protest, until he was interrupted by Gandalf.

"Saruman will say a lot of things to prove us wrong... but we all in Council, even Saruman himself, knows that _NINE_ only answer to one master in this world." Gandalf said with the suspicipous tone.

"We've been blind, Radagast. And in our blindness, our enemy has returned." Gandalf declared, which visibly shocked Radagast.

"And at the moment, he's summoning his minions to him." Gandalf added...

...remembering Beorn mentioning something about the alliance between of the goblins of Moria and this "so-called" Necromancer in Dol Guldur, as well as his mention about the growing numbers of goblins, wargs and other hideous creatures wandering in the lands between of the Misty Mountains and Mirkwood, heading to the south in the direction of the Hill of Sorcery itself.

"I understand now, that Bolg of the North, spawn of Azog the Defiler, is not merely the hunter. He is a commander! The commander of the legions of goblins and other hideous creatures hiding in Dol Guldur with the numbers beyond of our imagination!" Gandalf explained, before he gave his final opinion to all of this.

"The enemy... is preparing for WAR!" Gandalf declared with the death-serious tone, which visibly shocked Radagast even more!

"And it will begin in the east! His mind has been set upon that mountain!" Gandalf added, as he hurriedly passed Radagast and started to walk away, heading back there where he had left his horse... much to Radagast's confusion.

"Where are you going?" Radagast asked.

"To rejoin the others." Gandalf simply answered without turning to Radagast...

...knowing that Thorin Oakenshield's company was at the moment heading straight to their certain doom, which would be the far more bigger threat than anything else they had experienced during of their life and their journey... with the exception of facing the dragon himself.

"But Gandalf..." Radagast protested.

This time, Gandalf stopped and turned around to look at Radagast, both hurry and worry in his old man's faces and eyes.

"Radagast. Both Thorin's company and the evil forces are on the move because of only one person. Me! I started this. I cannot forsake them to the certain death! They do not even know that they're all in the grave danger." Gandalf said with worry.

However, Radagast had not yet finished it what he needed to say to Gandalf.

"Gandalf, I understand your worry over your friends. But if what you're saying is true, the world is in grave danger. The power in that fortress will only grow stronger if we just ignore it. We have to buy some time for the Council to know about it and get prepared for it." Radagast said with the serious tone.

Unsure of this, Gandalf turned his head away from Radagast.

"You want me to cast my friends aside?" He asked with the saddened tone.

Radagast walked to his fellow wizard and friend's side and landed his hand comfortingly to his friend's shoulder.

"I know it's difficult to be responsible for starting something which cannot be undone anymore, Gandalf. But the weight of such of burden will get even more heavier by ignoring also those thousands innocent lives in the grave danger and yet even forsaking them to the certain death. This cannot be allowed, Gandalf." Radagast said to his friend, before he passed Gandalf.

He kept temporarily walking, before he eventually turned around to look at Gandalf, who still struggled with the opinions between of preventing the evil from making its move and heading to the mountain to warn his friends.

"And as a wizards, it is our duty to protect Middle-Earth and prevent the evil from reaching its goals, including making upcoming consequences of your actions undone, before it's too late to make them undone. And I think that we should at first start from investigating the source of this evil. Shall we?" Radagast asked, before he continued his way down.

Gandalf remained for a moment behind, struggling with the various options: Needing to warn his friends about what's coming or go with Radagast to the source of this evil and halt them.

And Gandalf also knew too well the duty, for what he and the rest of the wizards had originally sent to Middle-Earth.

And so, though still a bit reluctantly, Gandalf followed Radagast to make his way to his horse.

 **###**

After a long journey through of the wildernesses and the dark and sick/dead part of the southern Mirkwood forest on Radagast's wooden sled, pulled by his giant rabbits, the wizards eventually arrived to the notorious area of Dol Guldur.

Gandalf and Radagast left Radagast's sled and the rabbits a small distance away from the fortress, while they made their way to the cliff, between of which and the fortress was the large and deep chasm.

And both the cliff and the fortress were linked with each others with the narrow stone bridge, leading straight to the dark fortress.

Gandalf eyed the ruined dark fortress, from the top of its numerous dilapidated towers to its extremely ruined walls, which were heavily overgrown with menacing brambles and thorny trees and covered with unnatural-like fog.

"Dol Guldur. The Hill of Sorcery." Gandalf whispered as he eyed the fortress.

Radagast arrived to his side to eye the fortress as well.

It was awkwardly silent.

There was not a single snarl coming from the goblins, not the growling of the wargs nor even a squeaks of bats.

In fact, there seemed to be no one moving in the ruins, like there was nobody in there... unlike during of his last visit in the fortress.

"It looks like completely abandoned...as if there is no one in there." Radagast said, confused of the fortress apparent emptiness.

However, Gandalf had a completely different view.

"Yes, as it is meant to. A spell of concealment lies over this place." Gandalf explained, stating that their enemy had covered Dol Guldur with the spell, which hides everything relating to the darkness and its servants from their eyes, making the fortress to look as it is abandoned...

...and for the reason.

"Which means, our enemy is not yet ready to reveal himself nor the forces he has hidden within this foul place. He has not regained his full strength." Gandalf explained simply.

And then, suddenly, Gandalf turned to Radagast.

"Radagast, I need you to carry a message to the Lady Galadriel. Tell her we must force his hand." Gandalf said, which confused Radagast even more.

"What do you mean?"

Gandalf knew that how to answer to that.

"You said yourself that we should try to halt the enemy in his progress to buy the White Council enough time to know about the threat of this evil and get prepared to it. And that's why I'm going in alone, to both turn the enemy's attention temporarily to me from the mountain and to buy the other Council members to arrive and at the same time to force him to reveal his true identity, to confirm my doubts correct." Gandalf explained.

"What about me?" Radagast asked worried.

"You're doing exactly as I said, Radagast. Get out of here and head to Galadriel to deliver my message to her. You understand." Gandalf explained.

However, Radagast was still against this idea.

"But Gandalf..." Radagast tried, but was soon interrupted by Gandalf.

"No Radagast. No matter what happens, you on no account come after me. I know that it is a big risk to go into that fortress alone, but it's not use to get both of us either killed or caught. You have your duty to do and I will meet you and the rest of the Council outside. You understand?" Gandalf asked.

Though a still hesitant, Radagast couldn't help but only nod to his fellow wizard colleague, before he turned around and headed towards his sled.

"Do I have your word?" Gandalf asked yet for final time, wanting Radagast to give him his word, not to come after him into Dol Guldur bu head straight to the Lothlorien, as he told him to do.

"Yes, yes, yes, yes! Even though I live in solitude and in middle of nature by my own desire, why it's always me from all the five wizards, who is always doubted by everybody?" Radagast muttered a bit annoyed/frustrated that even Gandalf had his doubts of him, though not so strong doubts like what Saruman has.

And with that...

...Gandalf entered through of the first gates to the narrow stone bridge, heading towards Dol Guldur.

However, he managed to have only a few steps before...

"Gandalf! Wait, Gandalf! What if it's a trap?!" Radagast, after he suddenly appeared back to the gates, asked from Gandalf.

Radagast had his doubts that the spell over the fortress had also another purpose; such like luring them into the mouth of the wolf!

However.

"Turn around, Radagast. Go and do not come back anymore." Gandalf said back, denying Radagast's warnings and turning to the direction of Radagast to make sure that he certainly leaves.

The brown wizard humbly nodded, turned away and disappeared out of the sight.

Gandalf then turned back to Dol Guldur...

...but also considering what Radagast had warned him about the possible trap.

Unlike with the elves or hobbits welcome, Gandalf knew that if the fortress wasn't abandoned as it looks like, the welcome inside of Dol Guldur would be far from warm and pleasant.

"Yes. It's undoubtedly a trap." Gandalf finally said, as he draw out his Glamdring sword into his right hand...

...and started to walk boldly through of the stone bridge, towards Dol Guldur, ready to face anything what was waiting for him in the dark fortress, as the ancient fortress stood menacingly right in front of him with the complete but false empty-look.

 **###**

Once Gandalf arrived to the main gates of Dol Guldur and stepped into the courtyard, Gandalf started immediately to look around of him while walking through of the narrow corridors, stone bridges, stairs and another courtyards.

There was awkwardly empty and quiet, in everywhere where Gandalf walked.

Gandalf watched his back by turning around to see that was he followed by somebody in the ruins and shadows.

No one was not seen in every time he turned around, but knowing too well that he was even at the moment being watched from the shadows and ruins or under of the spell, Gandalf kept all his senses alarmed for any possible assassinate attempt and ambush.

Gandalf eventually made his way to one of the fortress' many ruined edges in its vertical wall side.

Gandalf stopped to there.

" _The evil that is hidden here... I command it to come forth! I COMMAND IT TO REVEAL ITSELF!_ " Gandalf said loudly in Quenya, in order to force the evil hiding in the fortress to come forth to face him and reveal himself to him...

...after which Gandalf struck his staff's lower end against the ground, which slightly shook the entire fortress and sent on the move the magical shock wave to run through of the ruins around of him, to remove the shroud of concealment that lies upon the fortress.

Gandalf waited a moment for the response.

However, nothing didn't happen.

No one was seen among the ruins.

Everything was still awkwardly quiet.

And no sight about the evil hidden in this fortress.

And so, Gandalf began to call/force the evil hidden in this fortress to come forth again.

Meanwhile, deeper in the dark fortress.

In one of many the Dol Guldur's dark chambers in deep of the fortress, Bolg was standing still in there, while the giant pale goblin listened in the Dol Guldur's narrow air space echoing Quenya words coming from Gandalf's mouth.

And recognizing the intruder's voice from their last encounter...

"The wizard has come." Bolg growled in black speech.

One of Bolg's goblin lieutenants, who was standing in next of his master, looked nervously around.

"He's lifting the spell, master. He will find us!" The goblin said with nervous tone.

However, Bolg was not at all neither concerned nor nervous about Gandalf trying to lift the spell from upon the fortress.

"Yes... he will. And once he does... he will soon find out that he is too late." Bolg stated, as he looked into the chamber, which was full of the angrily yet eagerly growling wargs and wolves.

 **###**

(Time Jump: After Gandalf had found/faced and barely managed to heal the long lost dwarf lord Thráin as captive in Dol Guldur and driven into madness, after Gandalf finding out that he had lost one of the Seven Dwarf Rings to Azog the Defiler before being captured in bloody Battle of Azanulbizar, and after Thráin telling Gandalf that his son Thorin, nor anyone, must never enter the mountain due to the sickness that lied upon the treasure.)

Gandalf and Tháin were hurrying through of Dol Guldur's dark tunnels to get out of the fortress, Gandalf hurriedly walking right behind of ahead walking/running Thráin, as the dwarf lord was nearly in the vedge of panic and urged Gandalf to follow him quickly.

"He has been informed of Thorin's intentions and he is waiting for them! They are in league! The dragon and _The One_! Hurry Gandalf! We must hurry to stop them!" Thráin urged.

As Gandalf and Thráin made their way to one of the open edges within the fortress, in middle of which was standing partially broken statue, which was holding something a round artifact-like thing in his stone hand.

And once Gandalf paid a quick look at the round thing in the statue's hand, he immediately turned his full attention to it and stopped.

And before he managed to disappear into the darkness of the tunnels, Thráin turned around and looked back at Gandalf, who was instead running right behind of him walking straight towards the statue.

"Gandalf! What are you doing?! We must go, now!" Thráin urged as he hurried to Gandalf's side.

"Just a moment, Thráin." Gandalf said, as he kept approaching the thing in the statue's hand.

Thráin eyes the statue in front of them, wondering that what was so interesting about it, which had caught Gandalf's attention to it from escape from the dortress to warn his son.

However... it did not took long from Thráin to see the round thing in the statue's hand, and realized the reason why Gandalf had took the interest about the half-broken statue in middle of this open edge.

"What is it?" Thráin asked.

Gandalf stepped towards the artefact in the statue's hand slowly and like with the respectful attitude.

And once he was right next to the hand holding the artefact, Gandalf realized that what it was.

" _Palantír_." Gandalf whispered.

Palantír, Seeing Stones, one of the great elven creations and the elven gifts for Dúnedain of Númenor, seven of which were brought to Middle-Earth by king Elendil himself when Númenor sunk to beneath of the sea in the Second Age.

They were placed into seven different places all around of the Middle-Earth by Elendil in the Second Age.

Three of them were placed in the Kingdom of Arnor into watchtower of Amon Sûl/Weathertop, the City of Annúminas and the tower of Elostirion.

And four of them were placed to the south, in four places of the Kingdom of Gondor. One of them was placed into the Tower of Orthanc in middle of unbreakable fortress of Isengard, where Saruman the White currently lived, one of them was once placed to the King's Tower of Minas Arnor/Minas Tirith, The most powerful one of the seven was placen to the City of Osgiliath, to the Dome of Stars in the small island in middle of the River Anduin and the final one was placed to the Minas Ithil, Tower of the Rising Moon... and the stones were originally used to keep contact and communicate with the other kingdoms and the places.

However, through of the Tird Age, Palantír stones started to get lost one by one or were locked away.

At least the stones of tower of Elostirion and the Tower of Kings of Minas Arnor/Minas Tirith were locked away.

The stones of Annúminas and Amon Sûl - the latter was taken away to city of Fornost to the safety after Amon Sûl and later Fornost fell under the Witch King's forces during of the ancient war between the evil witch-realm called Angmar and the kingdom of Armor - were lost forever in T.A. 1975 when the ship on which the last king of Arnor, Arvedui was travelling with both Palantírs, was shipwrecked in the ice.

Orthanc's stone remained there under Saruman's possession.

Minas Ithil's stone was stolen by the _NINE_ when the forces of Mordor conquered Minas Ithil, renaming it as Minas Morgul, the Tower of the Dark Sorcery. Now that Palantír was in the hands and possession of the _ONE_ himself.

And the last and the most powerful of them all in Osgiliath and the Dome of Stars was as well lost forever in the wars between of Gondor and Mordor, which tore the entire city of Osgiliath into pieces and turned the entire city into the ruined battle ground between of Gondor's and Mordor's forces... during of which, the Dome of Stars was destroyed and the Palantír out there was sunk to the River Anduin.

Gandalf was more than just aware of each Palantír's ultimate fate.

With two of them locked away and being unused, four lost for good - including one in the _ONE_ 's possession - and one in Saruman's possession.

"Impossible! How has one of the long lost Palantírs ended up here?" Gandalf asked from himself...

...wondering unsurely that was the Palantír in front of him either the one held once in Minas Ithil now Morgul, or the one, which was held in the Dome of Stars in middle of the city of Osgiliath, until it get lost and apparently sunk to the Great River in the wars fought in Osgiliath.

However, with his knowledge of one of the Seven Seeing Stones being under of the _ONE_ 's possession and control, and judging from Thráin mention about the league between of Smaug and this evil hiding in this dark fortress... this Palantír in front of him might be linked to the one with the evil's possession.

Maybe giving him the chance to spy through of the telepathic link of Palantírs this evil's plans.

The risk would be great, unless the evil hiding in Dol Guldur is already aware of his presence in here.

And if he is, the telepathic link to his mind through of Palantír would be far more clear and allowing Gandalf to look deeper into this evil mind to seek his plans.

And so, Gandalf needed to get this evil more than just aware about his presence in his turf, so that he would be able to look telepathically into his mind through of Palantír

That would be far too risky, maybe even extremely foolish act, which may cost both of them to be either captured or killed... or worse, to be either brainwashed and driven into primitive madness by this evil just like it had done with Thráin, or his mind will be filled with the mentally influential and desperate omens to send him into despair...

...but wanting to badly know that what they have been up against all along since the establishment of the entire Quest of Erebor, Gandalf decided to take the risk and take the look at Palantír.

But not before turning back to Thráin standing behind of him.

"Thráin, I need you to stand on your guard and watch my back for a while... and stay very close of me, in case of your own safety." Gandalf said to his old friend.

Thrain turned to look at his old friend with confusion.

"What do you mean? What are you doing?" Thráin asked with the confused tone.

Gandalf, rather than answering directly, turned to Palantír and slowly started to lift his own hand above of the Seeing Stone in the statue's hand.

"Something very foolish and risky I've ever done in my life." Gandalf said dead-seriously.

And as Gandalf's hand was right above of Palantír, Gandalf started momentarily hesitant with his move and started to one more time to think about the rationality and the possible consequences of this.

However, putting those feelings aside, Gandalf placed his fingers above of the stone, wiping off some dust over the round stone, and using his powers, Gandalf made the telepathic link to the link between of this one and the another stone in the evil's possession... and closed his eyes to see clearly everything.

Suddenly... there slowly but certainly appeared the large flaming _EYE_ inside of the Palantír as Gandalf made the telepathic link between of the link of two stones.

Gandalf then started to telepathically see the visions.

 _ **Palantír's vision**_

Gandalf saw the abandoned-like fortress of Dol Guldur, standing in ruins but still mighty on the hill in middle of the sickened or dead part of Mirkwood.

Gandalf saw the herds of goblins and other hideous creatures emerging from the forest and entering in the great numbers to the caverns of Dol Guldur.

Gandalf saw so-called abandoned fortress ruins being full/overgrown of Moria and Goblin-town goblins and both wargs and the large savage wolves.

Gandalf saw the massive swarm of vampire bats floating above of the Hill of Sorcery and among of the fortress ruined towers.

Gandalf saw the massive and heavily armored and armed goblin battalions, as well as the massive cavalry of warg-riders and wolf-riders or dismounted wargs and wolves, marching in disciplined ranks and out of the ruins of old Fortress, wearing the black armors, most of which had the knife-sharp edges and a lots of various sized spikes and most of them had pikes attached into their armors backside, in which was hanging the rotten dwarf heads of the goblins previous victims as an trophies, and the monstrous horned beasts heads-looking helmets forged in the caverns of Dol Guldur and Moria and holding in their hands in the dark caverns of Moria and Dol Guldur forged goblin-weapons, such like a long and short halberds, wide and straight one-handed goblin-swords, axes stolen from the dwarf, spiked maces, war-bows and the wide shields equipped with curved hook-like blade, two spikes or ax-like blade in the another end.

Then Gandalf saw the massive fortress of Gundabad, standing mighty in the middle of a remote mountain range and surrounded by sharp angled cliffs in the eastern border of the long-dead ancient witch-realm of Angmar. It was nighttime there and thousands torches and hidden cauldrons of fire were lighting up the tower with a dim red glow.

Gandalf saw that the fortress tower's air space was filled with the massive swarm of the regular eagle-sized Gundabad bats.

Gandalf saw that from three massive doorway in Gundabad's feet emerged the massive army of human-sized, muscular and heavily armored Gundabad goblins, marching in the disciplined ranks while the swarm of the gigantic Gundabad Bads flied over their battalions.

And along of them was marching the hideous monsters bred in the caverns of Gundabad: Such like the several gigantic wereworms and the massive swarm of smaller but still various-sized wereworms with snake-like bodies, monstrous mouths with the monstrous fangs and four four-fingered and clawed lizard-like limbs...

...some goblin archers riding in the backs of the huge and monstrous dire birds of Gundabad...

...the ogres, several dozens of 9-12 ft tall gray- or pale-skinned ogres, who carried no armor but the large wooden spiked maces. But there was even some much larger ogres, about 25 feet tall, and they neither wore armor but the large spiked maces. And among of the largest ogres was also some, who were truncated at the limbs, and whose arms were replaced with the chained hideous-looking flails, and their legs were replaced with the wrecking ball-like maces. They were blinded by piercing their eyes and there was chains fixed from these ogres eye sockets to a chair on their backs, enabling them to be controlled by a goblin driver.

...massive mountain apes (albino gorilla-like things), who were marching in the line in between of the Gundabad goblin ranks and who were carrying the large wooden catapult mechanisms on their backs and having the small goblins crew operating with each of them.

And in the ahead of the goblin ranks was rushing in the form of the massive black wave a massive herd of the savage and pale-skinned goblin berserkers, were the most ruthless, bloodthirsty and fearsome goblins of Gundabad.

And then, Gandalf saw heavily armored Bolg and several of his goblin captains watching from the high cliff the armies of Dol Guldur and Gundabad, who had gathered together ready for the massive attack behind of Erebor's East branch.

Gandalf then saw seven massive wereworms to "eat" their way to the ground behind of Erebor's East branch, creating seven massive tunnels, into which the massive army of goblins and other monsters marched battalion by battalion, while the massive pack of wargs and the flock of Gundabad's and Dol Guldur's bats remained outside.

Gandalf then saw the massive black cloud of bats filling the air space of the Valley, creating with their number the darkness over the Valley between of the Gates of Erebor and the ruins of the City of Dale.

Gandalf saw the massive allied armies of Dol Guldur and Gundabad, having surrounded the gates of Erebor... as well as in front of the Erebor standing a great crowd of men of Late-Town, elven battalions of Mirkwood and the dwarf legions.

The vision then turned from Siege of Erebor to the mountain regions of the ancient witch-realm of Angmar...

...which was soon covered by the black and endless sea of the servants and the hideous monsters of the Darkness.

Gandalf saw the ancient and now ruined fortress and the capital of kingdom of Angmar, Carn Dûm...

...which eventually changed its shape from the ruined and deserted to repaired and filled with the burning lights and the evil servants of the Darkness.

Gandalf saw the sky above of Carn Dûm being filled with the dark, monstrous and unnatural storm clouds...

...which twirling unnaturally above of the Carn Dûm started to spread quickly all over the air space of the Angmar and even to outside of the Angmar's mountains... covering everything into the unnatural darkness.

Gandalf saw then the massive armies of orcs and war beasts of Angmar marching from the Angmar Mountains to the south like the massive and unstoppable black wave... while the dark storm clouds above of the army turned into burning red.

Gandalf also saw the gigantic winged reptile-like creature flying among the clouds above of the armies of Angmar.

It didn't took long, when the creature emerged out of the clouds, revealing himself as winged fire-drake Smaug the Terrible, in all his the fear-inspiring and unstoppable mightiness, and releasing his flames to the clouds like lighting them into fire.

Gandalf noticed that Smaug was floating above of the armies of evil like he was leading them forward.

Gandalf then saw several places of the Middle-Earth, such like...

...Rivendell the elven hideout...

...Lórien, the Golden Forest...

...Shire, the land of the Hobbits...

...Grey Havens of the elves...

...Dwarf realm of the Blue Mountains...

...Elven King's Halls in Mirkwood

...Dwarf kingdom in the Iron Hills...

...and even the mightiest kingdom of men ever, the kingdom of Gondor itself...

...all of them covered under the unnatural and endless Darkness of evil and all of them being one by one overwhelmingly and brutally conquered and looted, their peoples mercilessly slaughtered, and all the realms consumed by the destructive and hungry Dragon-fire.

And finally... Gandalf saw the Dragon Smaug standing in the middle of the massive armies of evil and darkness celebrating their destructive and ultimate victory over the Middle-Earth and its free peoples, while the massive flames of the Dragon-Fire rose up to the skies behind of victorious Dragon Smaug.

Gandalf saw Smaug to letting out triumphant and deafening roar to the sky... before he released another breath of the dragon-fire towards Gandalf's direction.

 **End of the vision.**

Such of sudden move from Smaug in such of dark vision foretelling the dark future of the Middle-Earth caught Gandalf off guard and caused him to gasp in shock and the wizard hastily backed off from the Palantír and the statue holding it, nearly causing the old wizard to fall on his back to the ground.

However, Thráin was startled of his friend's sudden behavior and immediately rushed to aid of his old friend.

"Gandalf? What is it?! What did you see?!" Thráin asked from his old friend, concerned of him and about what did he just saw.

Thráin helped Gandalf to keep his balance, preventing the old wizard to fall backwards on his back to the ground.

Gandalf panted heavily, as the old gray wizard was visibly and mentally shocked of this vision and such of dark future, which was threatening all Middle-Earth and its free peoples... starting from the Lonely Mountain itself.

Gandalf quickly but only partially recovered from his shock and turned to Thráin.

"We should leave here, now! I just saw the vision, which just told me that the danger threatening Erebor and all close of of the Lonely Mountain is much bigger and the following events even more darker than what I imagined." Gandalf said with the extremely shocked and afraid of such of dark future.

"The let's no waste anymore time, old friend. Let's head to the main entrance and then to the Mountain after my son! And hurry! We must keep hurry and reach to there before they enter to the Mountain!" Thráin hurried.

Gandalf nodded, and with the strike with his staff's another end against the ground, the wizard released the protective shield from around of them and let it to go through of the ruins, because there was no need for it anymore.

And the duo prepared to leave from the fortress for good.

However...

As the magical shield reached to the ruins of this edge where Thráin and Gandalf were, BOLG suddenly appeared out of nowhere through of the magical and slowly fading shield with his goblins, wargs, wolves and warg- and wolf-riders and even a couple ogres with their wooden piked maces.

Loudly roaring, Bolg charged at both Thráin and Gandalf, whom he had got by surprise, and swung his massive mace towards Gandalf...

...sending the old wizard to fly a small distance away from him, while the goblins, wargs & wolves and ogres surrounded them to the edge from every ruined stair and dark tunnel leading out of the edge.

Gandalf panted heavily after such of heavy strike from Bolg's mace, which force would have kill even the most stubborn and firm dwarf.

Thráin was horrified to see the dwarfs most feared and hated enemy's son, but he was even more horrified and shocked to see his old friend to get struck down by Bolg's massive mace.

Bolg bursted into the mocking laugh, as he eyed Gandalf, as the old wizard, still heavily panting, struggled the pain in his body from Bolg's mace as he tried to climb back up.

Bolg then started to approach both the gray wizard and the dwarf lord, who hurried behind of Gandalf's back.

Thráin wasn't coward, but being prisoner the life-time in Dol Guldur and being mentally tortured with the dark magic by the _Evil One_ has effect to his own courage.

"You have come too late, wizard. the preparations has been done and we're already ready to make our move!" Bolg said in black speech, taunting Gandalf of his late interference of their plans for the future Gandalf had just saw in Palantír.

Bolg then grabbed from his mace with both of his hands and charged at the wizard and dwarf with the intention to kill them both.

However, Gandalf hurriedly jumped on his feet, grabbed to his staff and pointed with its pointed end at the pale goblin, sending a small one but somewhat effective magical shock wave to keep Bolg in bay.

Bolg fell back slightly after feeling the magical shock wave pulling him backwards, preventing him to reach to the wizard and the dwarf lord.

"WHERE IS YOUR MASTER?!" Gandalf demanded the pale goblin to answer while pointing him with his staff.

Bolg snarled loudly and out of frustration at the wizard and tried to lunge at him again...

...only to be pushed backwards yet again by Gandalf, as he slightly draw his staff forward, sending the very same magical shockwave against the pale goblin.

"WHERE IS HE?!" Gandalf demanded yet again, doing his best to keep the goblins and Bolg away from him and Thráin.

"He is everywhere! His will be soon everywhere. Nothing can stop us..." Bolg taunted and suggested Gandalf to look over the cliff.

"...now when there is legions of us!"

Not daring to take both his eyes nor staff away from Bolg's direction, Gandalf moved a bit closer the edge of the cliff and looked down to the large courtyard of the fortress to see that what was down there.

And so did Thráin, as he moved in Gandalf's side.

Both the wizard and the dwarf gasped in shock after seeing Dol Guldur's ruined courtyard and caverns around of the courtyard to be even overly filled with countless number of Misty Mountains and Moria goblins preparing for the upcoming war against the free peoples of Middle-Earth, and the huge gap in the middle of the courtyard showed the chamber beneath of the courtyard, which was lightened by some unnatural light, and which was filled with the dozens of wargs and wolves, who were feasting with for them in the chamber tossed countless piles of bodies or human prisoners, hunted animals and even some goblins.

After seeing the countless number of goblins and wargs, Gandalf turned back to Bolg and his goblin servants, who still continued to circling him like the hungry wolf pack the wounded deer.

"It is over, wizard. And you and your dwarf-friend can never get out of this place alive!" Bolg declared, before he, ignoring the wizard's staff and its power, lunged towards Gandalf and Thráin with the intention to kill them both and lifted his mace above of his head to deliver the killing blow.

However, Gandalf decided that it was time to leave and draw his staff forward towards Bolg.

But this time, instead of the magical shock wave, Gandalf created with his staff the magical bright flash, which was followed the thunder-like deep sound and which temporarily blindened badly surprised Bolg and his goblin minions, buying some time to wizard and dwarf lord to escape from the fortress.

The bright flash kept the goblins momentarily in bay...

...but once they were able to see again, they all spotted that both the wizard and the dwarf were gone.

But, however, Bolg was able to locate them by listening their away from them running steps, which were coming one of the tunnels of the fortress.

"AFTER THEM! RUN THEM DOWN!" Bolg ordered his minions.

As Wizard and Thráin hurriedly rushed through of the narrow and dark tunnel while heading towards the main entrance of Dol Guldur for their lives...

...from the ruins of the fortress emerged at least ten wargs with four goblin warg-riders, who gave chase after escaping wizard and dwarf lord and rushed into the very same narrow dark tunnel, in which Gandalf and Thráin were hurriedly escaping from them.

And after the wizard and the dwarf had reached to the other side of the tunnel and were about to run over the deep dead-tree filled chasm through of the narrow bridge, Gandalf stopped in the next to the entrance in the dark tunnel and struck with his staff the tower above of him.

There was the magical flash as his staff struck the tower, which suddenly caused the tower to collapse down.

..Gandalf hurriedly rushed after Thrain to the another side of the bridge and oiut of the rain of collapsing tower's rocks.

It was then, when the wargs and warg-riders emerged out from the narrow tunnel and attacked bith the wizard and the dwarf.

However, the first ones of the pack were caught by the large falling boulder, which crushed the first ones of the wargs and goblins beneath of its to death crushing weight and took half of of the bridge down with it... causing all the rest of the wargs and warg-riders right on their leader's tail to fall one by one and whimpering down to their deaths

After witnessing the deaths of their chasers, Gandalf looked up to the fortress, from where he heard Bolg's frustrated roar in the air.

"HRRAAAARGH! AFTER THEM! STOP THEM!" Bolg furiously ordered.

Not willing to wait a new minions of Bolg to coming after them, both Gandalf and Thráin hurriedly kept running away.

 **###**

(Time jump: After Gandalf and Thráin had crossed paths with the Necromancer, after Thráin's death in the hands of Necromancer, after the duel between the light and darkness and after Gandalf being both defeated and captured by the Necromancer revealed Sauron.)

After some time, badly bruised Gandalf suddenly woke up from his unconsciousness.

Gandalf felt himself dizzy and he shook his head many times over to get it clean.

However, as soon as Gandalf had got his dizzy head clear enough, the wizard started to recall that what had just happened to him.

Gandalf remembered, that he was running with Thráin for their lives out of the fortress, until their escape was blocked out of nowhere appeared gigantic black and unnatural cloud with some side-could floating in the air like some tentacles.

Gandalf remembered that he had boldly stood against this unnatural form of this evil to defend Thráin from him, but the dwarf lord had already fallen into despair about hope in his case and had asked from Gandalf to get out of the fortress and head to Mountain without him, and he had requested Gandalf to deliver his final message for his son Thorin that he loved him. Gandalf remembered that he had rebuked this instead and told to Thráin that he will tell Thorin himself... until one of the cloud's tentacles had grabbed Thráin from his side and pulled him into the black cloud, killing him.

Gandalf remembered that he had challenged this evil to the duel between of the light and darkness, but he was only able to defend himself with the magical shield to protect himself from the cloud's tentacles while the evil hammered the shield with all its dark force, which had caused at least half of the bridge to collapse down.

Gandalf remembered those strikes against his magical shield, which felt like his shield was hammered with the mountain itself, and which had managed to couple times get him to lose his concentration... thus causing his magical shield to disappear and leaving him without the protection against this evil force.

But when Gandalf had the change to strike back with his own powers, Gandalf was distracted by the sudden appearance of the flaming form in middle of the cloud.

Gandalf remembered that the air space around of their duel area was getting burning hot, which had eventually melt his staff into nothing, leaving him defenseless.

Gandalf also remembered, that as disarmed and at the mercy of his too powerful opponent, he was suddenly caught from behind by this evil force's cloudy tentacles and he was mercilessly hurled against the ground like rag doll, before he was hurled against the wall above of the entrance, through of which he and now-dead Thráin had escaped from Bolg's troops.

And Gandalf remembered also that once all overwhelmingly defeated and captured by this evil force, the flaming figure in middle of the cloud and exploded into the flames and formed around of him the form of the flaming _EYE._

The Necromancer had revealed his true identity to him as... _SAURON!_

By this revelation, Gandalf's worst fears had been confirmed.

Once Gandalf had completely recovered from his dizzy state, he opened his eyes and looked around of him...

...only to find himself locked into over the edge in the hook hanging cage with narrow air space inside of the hideous spike-bars.

His escape was completely blocked... with no way to escape from the cage and from some goblin guards, who were standing on the edge next to his cage with the spears and the goblin bows.

Now when he had very valuable knowledge for the White Council, the Dark Lord hiding in the fortress in the form of the Necromancer was more than just unwilling to let him go.

Gandalf was only able to watch from between of the spike-bars opf his cage to the long-reaching dark horizon.

"Is there comfortable?" Suddenly asked someone behind of him with the Black Speech and with the extremely taunting tone.

Gandalf turned around in his cage and saw Bolg standing in the heavy armor, the similar to the one he wore in that vision Gandalf had saw through of Palantír.

"A quite small air space in the cage and a bit cold due to the wind, but apparently comfortable. That's all Dol Guldur can offer to our guest." Bolg taunted, which was followed by temporary chuckling coming from the goblins.

Gandalf only glared at the pale goblin with the burning glare.

"Go ahead and laugh, while you still can, servants of evil. But this ain't over yet." Gandalf boldly said...

...only to get his cage kicked by angry Bolg, which caused Gandalf's cage to swing violently over the chasm.

"Face it, wizard! You have failed! Totally failed! All is ready for my master's first step to the victory. Soon, the world will fall under my master's will, starting from the Lonely Mountain and all of the neighbor-kingdoms around of it. First, we'll slaughter those pathetic men of Laketown with ease, and then we'll take over the Lonely Mountain under of my master's power."

"And... if that filthy company of dwarf scum, especially that filthy Oakenshield, has already reached to the Mountain, it gives me the opportunity to finally have the head of that filthy dwarven lord as long-lusted revenge for my father's death back in the gates of Moria!"

"And now, now when all preparations are ready, we are ready to make our first move in this war about..." Bolg saod, before he took out the goblin-made war horn and lifted it to the level of his head.

"...NOW!" The pale Goblin declared and blew into the horn, releasing the deep and coarse sound of horn over the air space of Dol Guldur.

And then, immediately following the sound of Bolg's horn...

...there began to be heard thousands of heavy steps and clattering of the armors and arms down bellow.

Gandalf watched down from his cage...

...and saw that from the dozens and dozens of dark cave-like entrances in the feet of the fortress emerged out the massive army of tens of thousands heavily armored goblins, marching in the massive and disciplined legions out of the fortress.

Among of them was also marching the huge packs of wargs, wolves, and warg- and wolf-riders, forming the massive cavalry of this massive army.

Thousands long goblin-halberds and -spears rose above of the goblin ranks, as well as many of the goblins carried dozens of their goblin-made war-flags... and due to the darkness and the nighttime, when they were mobilized, thousands of them carried with them the torches.

Among of the goblin ranks was also walking with the legions some troll-sized goblins, who were carrying the large and heavy drums, with the ogres beat with the heavy drumsticks or even with their bare fists in rhythm to keep discipline over the ranks and make the goblins to march with the disciplined rhythm.

And finally, the nighttime sky was suddenly filled with the moon's light covering massive swarm of bats, which covered the entire ground bellow of their swarm under of their flock's darkness.

Bolg took it as an pleasure to see the horror in Gandalf's eyes as he witnessed the release and mobilization of the armies of Dol Guldur.

"Beautiful, isn't it? Just beautiful." Bolg taunted Gandalf, as he saw the horror in the wizard's eyes.

"With the army like that, those pathetic and weak lake-men and even Thorin Oakenshield and his filthy dwarf companions, if he has already reached to the mountain, I hope that he has, do not stand a chance against us." Bolg taunted more.

Bolg then grabbed from Gandalf's cage and pulled it backwards close to him.

"And you're lucky that my master let you live to see this, old man! So, let this be the last one thing you'll see for the rest of your miserable life... to fill you fully of desperation and the sense of failure... before you end your days in my master's TORTURE CHAMBERS LIKE YOUR DWARF FRIEND!" Bolg taunted, before he released/tossed Gandalf's cage off him... causing it to swing violently.

Bolg laughed mockingly at this, before he departed with most of the as mockingly laughing goblin warriors and disappeared into the dark ruins...

...leaving Gandalf to watch in horror and helplessly from his cage, as the army of goblins, wargs, wolves, ogres and bats marched from the fortress to the forest and immediately headed to the north, to Erebor's direction.

* * *

 **Small trivia...**

I had the feeling to add to this chapter from the movies completely deleted scene called as "Gandalf's vision" in which Gandalf touches the Palantír in Dol Guldur and gets the vision of Smaug leading the armies of orcs and war beasts, to which I also added Sauron's plan to rise the Witch-Real Angmar once again.

It was a bit strange that even without Gandalf's vision scene in the trilogy, Gandalf seemed to be aware of Sauron's true intentions behind of claiming Erebor.

I also added the March of Army of Gundabad to Gandalf's vision, because I wanted the army of Dol Guldur to consist only from goblins, wargs and bats and that all their war-beasts are coming from Gundabad.

And like in the book, there was no trolls in the goblin/warg army when it attacked to Erebor. So I replaced all trolls seen in the film, even the amputated war-trolls, seen in the movie with ogres. (I replaced the catapult trolls as mountain apes, because they a bit acted in the film like the apes.)

The mentioned creatures, small wereworms with limbs, Dire birds and mountain apes are all Weta Workshop's designed monsters for the Battle for the Five Armies, whom never made it into the final cut of the film.


	9. Chapter 9: Goblins march to Erebor

HAPTER 9. GOBLINS MARCH TO EREBOR

Legolas _  
News of the death of Smaug will have spread through the lands like the wildfire._

Bard _  
Aye. They will._

Legolas _  
Others will now look to the Mountain... those ones, who are interested for its wealth... and those ones, who are more interested for its position._

Bard _  
What do you mean? What is it you know?_

Legolas _  
Nothing is certain._ _But I feel that something bad is on the move. And i_ _t's what I fear may come._

* * *

In the south, in the large open plain far away from the lake and the Lonely Mountain, even though the Lonely Mountain was seen in the horizon.

The massive darkness spread fast over the large open plain, covering the lightly sky and blocking all the sunlight from reaching to the ground.

The reason to the darkness that covered the plain with the darkness was that the sky above of the open plains was full of tens of thousands small vampire bats that had dwelt in the towers of Dol Guldur, and the massive black flock of bats reached far away to the south, beyond of the horizon and beyond of the hills.

And under of the massive darkness-spreading flock of bats was marching under the protection of the darkness from the bright sunlight another danger threatening the north...

Into the heavy goblin-smithed armor dressed Pale Goblin Bolg of the North was riding across the open plains in the back of the white warg.

And there was two lines of the heavily armored and high-ranked goblin captains, whom wore from the wargs head-scalps made hoods above of their helmets as a sign of their position as the captains, were riding in the backs of the wargs alongside their general, and each one of them was holding above of themselves from the brown and black tattered fabric made goblin war-flags, into which was painted the blood-red paint of the EYE!

And behind of Bolg and his goblin captains was heavily marching the massive army of the goblins that had ever marched on Middle-Earth since the wars between goblins and dwarves, who were all summoned together from all around of Misty Mountains and from the ancient dwarf-kingdom of Moria by the Dark Lord to form from them an army in the dark caverns and pits of Dol Guldur.

And because most of the goblins were from Moria, each goblin soldier, both human- and dwarf-sized member of army, had dressed into the heavy chain armors and the black goblin-smithed armors with a lot of knife-sharp edges and various sized spikes all over the armor and most of the goblins - but not all of them - wore on their heads the metallic helmets that resembled the monstrous heads with the wide mouths full of the sharp fangs, and the helmets also had above of their topsides as line of sharply backwards curved spikes like the dragon's horns or flaming mane. The helmets protected the goblins' eyes from the extra light that wasn't covered by the swarm of bats and the goblins saw to outside of their helmets through of the helmets' 'mouths' or through of the eye-holes above of the helmets' fanged mouths.

The goblins were marching behind of their leaders in the massive and with the goblins' strict and brutal discipline organized legions, each of which consisted of one thousand heavily armored and armed both dwarf- and man-sized goblin soldiers...

...and behind of the first three legions was marching hundreds and hundreds of same-sized black goblin legions far into the horizon reaching lines like the army of swarming black monstrous ants.

And in addition to all, each goblin warrior coming from Moria through of Dol Guldur had two-three-four long above of the goblins heads towering spikes attached to their goblin-smithed armors backside, in the tops of which the goblins had hung up their long-bearded dwarf and northern human victims brutally beheaded heads as an trophies and deterrent for their enemies.

The legions of goblins consisted of several factions, which were the goblin pikemen and halberdiers, swordsmen and archers, that formed most of this massive goblin army.

Pikemen and halberdiers formed the major part and were far more disciplined goblins in the entire army. They carried the long goblin-pikes, while the goblin-halberdiers carried short halberds that were suitable for the close combat. Each of which had exactly the same shape of blade; a long and wide backwards curved blade, which had two-three claw-like notches in the blade's sharpened side.

The goblin swordsmen, that formed the second major part of the entire goblin army along with the pikemen and halberdiers, carried in their filthy hands goblin-smithed and one-handed goblin-swords with a long and narrow triangle-shaped and single-edged black blades, and each goblin swordsman carried the wide metallic shields arm's length in their another free hands/arms: Their shields had a scythed outer edges fitted with sharp crescent-shaped blades and a one or two long long, slightly curved and serrated claw-like spikes for the close combat.

The goblin archers, that formed the third most part of the army, though they were not equal to the number with the number of the goblin-pikemen, halberdiers and swordsmen, carried the the short goblin-bows in their hands and they also carried the goblin-made arrow sheaths as well as the long and curved-bladed goblin-swords and -knives for the combat in their backs.

There were also some large and miscellaneous factions of various sized goblins from the Goblin-Town, whom had joined to Dark Lord's army in Dol Guldur as goblin mercenaries after the chaos in the goblin tunnels and the death of the Great Goblin caused by the company of Thorin Oakenshield when they crossed the Misty Mountains, which was also the reason - along with their still burning hatred towards the dwarfs from the past, their desire of revenge against the dwarfs for their king's death and their own wish for the riches of Erebor as reward for their service as an mercenaries in the Dark Lord's army's ranks - why usually neutral goblins of the Goblin-Town joined their forces with the Dark Lord in the first place. They formed the third major part of the army.

All the goblins of these units wore the goblin-smithed armors that resembled from their backside the bug's shells, but these goblins didn't carry the helmets nor shields like most of the army did. These goblins also carried as their weapons a various-shaped and vicious-looking spears, swords, knives, daggers, axes, clubs, pickaxes and bows made out of wood, stone and their victims' bones. These goblins weren't also so organized and disciplined like most of the army that came from Moria, and their units were extremely disordered and more like swarm-like. But it also happened to be their the greatest advantage, because the goblins of the Goblin Town were either shorter, bigger or equal sized than the dwarfs, they were also sickly and physically weaker fighters in the close combat than the other goblins and therefore they put their trust in the strength in numbers and their overwhelming numbers to overpower their enemies. The goblins of the Goblin Town formed nearly the half part of the entire army, serving both as shock troops, archers and soon-to-be war-machine users.

The army included also its own cavalry units in case if their enemy does have any cavalry units. Their own cavalry was formed from the large group of goblins, that were a bit taller, more human-shaped and slender and thus lighter, who were supposed to ride to the battle in the massive packs of together gathered/summoned wargs and the giant wolves. The wargs, wolves and their goblin riders formed along with Moria goblin infantries and the Goblin-Town's goblins fourth major part of the entire army.

These goblins, at least most of them, didn't wear nearly any kind of heavy protection to keep the weight light on the wargs and wolves backs, so that the wolf-monsters were still capable to ran for a long distances without getting tired too quickly. Even though majority of the goblin cavalry wore merely from around of their necks hanging rags, tunics and collars made out of thick layer of leather with the vicious frills made of wargs' fangs, there were also those ones who wore either scale armor or chain armor beneath of either rags or a thick wargs' or wolves' fur, which they had yet reinforced with from the horses rib cages made chest armors. Only the Goblin-Town's goblins wore their own infantry's common chest-armors. And as their weapons, in the backs of the wargs and wolves riding goblins carried the long throwable and for the combat capable javelins, the goblin-smithed one-handed scimitars with the long, wide and curved blades that also served as a guards in the front side of the handles, protecting their wielders knuckles, a short goblin-made bows and the arrow sheaths, goblin-made bolas and even axes: One halberd-like axe with a long staff-like handle for two hands to grab and the wide but narrow ax-blade, which is smithed with the several notches and upwards towering and curved spikes to look like the flames and another one the vicious-looking hand axe with the one-handed handle and the crescent-shaped blade, which tips were pointing both to down- and upwards, and these axes also had in middle of their blades the notch in the form of sharp angle.

There was some disordered factions of the goblin javelinmen, whom wore all the same spiky armor as the goblin pikemen and halberdiers, swordsmen and archers, but they had left their legs exposed to get to move faster despite the combined weights of the chain armor and chest armor. They didn't used the helmets and were about to fight with their heads exposed, though some of them had from the chain armor made hoods over of their heads and above of their eyes to protect them from the light. These goblins as their primary weapons the long javelins, which had a serrated spearheads to cause to their enemies fatal wounds when being thrown at their enemies or when used in the close combat. These goblins carried the javelins in the leather sheaths, which were tied with the goblin-made belts around of their upper body to hang in their backs, and they carried also the goblin-made small-bladed daggers, as their extra and assassination weapons.

Because the goblin javelinmen were rather hunters/stalkers rather than soldiers, despite wearing the very same armor as most of the goblin-army, they all moved their long legs bent and in a crouching positions to hide from the eyes of their targets to ambush them.

The goblins in the factions of the goblin maulers, whom were bulkier and more muscular ones from all the goblins from Moria. Some or most of these goblins wore completely different type of helmets where their faces were left exposed, but this is why they wore over of their faces from their dwarf victims skinned and now rotten scalps with the dwarfs' bearded face skins, making these goblins like the ugly versions of the dwarfs. And the goblin maulers carried as their primary weapons either in the caverns of Dol Guldur forged axes with a long handles for two hands and a large, wide and heavy a crescent-shaped blades or from the mines and armory of Moria stolen one- and two-handed and one- or double-edged dwarf axes.

There was some units of goblin elite swordsmen: Man-sized goblins, who wore a little armor and had mostly dressed into the chain armor and they wore from the Goblin Town's goblins' the giant wolves coats and head scalps made hooded tunics over of their heads as a sign of their title as the elite unit. In addition of their lack of armor, they also didn't use the shields. They carried as their primary weapons of pair of one-handed, long and straight-bladed goblin-scimitars, which they carried in their sheaths, that had placed to hang in the X-position in their backs with the belts when not used. They were highly-skilled thus deadly warriors in the entire goblin-army and they were eager to get to behead the heads or slash the throats from their victims that are in the Mountain.

There was also some units of goblin berserkers. The goblins who were far more larger and straight than the ordinary smaller and hunchbacked goblins, they were taller than even men. They had more heavily built bodies and they were yet quite muscular, thus they were stronger and even more fiercer fighters than ordinary goblins. These large goblins wore extremely little protection just like the goblins elite swordsmen, with the exception of their massive and spiky wrist guards, heavy boots covered with the metal plates and their large metallic helmets, which resembled the upper part of the human skulls that covered half of their heads and faces, and they had above of the helmets the massive metallic and sharp-edged crests with the pointed notches. Some of them had even from the dwarfs beards made thick collars around of their necks and from the brutally shaved and skinned dwarfs scalps made loincloths. These goblin berserkers carried as their weapons either the massive two-handed war-hammers or single two-handed and one-edged goblin-cleavers, which had the long, straight, wide and heavy black blades, which outer sharp edge of the blades were serrated so that they could cause even badder or in the worse case lethal wounds to their carriers' enemies. Some of them even carried the pair of a huge and either straight or slightly curving war-maces, where the spikes were towering in the three lines from the middle part of the weapon to its tip, and the spikes grew from the small ones to the big ones on they way to the tips of the weapons.

There was also some gigantic goblins, who were of the same size as the ordinary mountain-trolls from the Ettenmoors or cave-trolls from the caverns beneath of the Misty Mountains, but each of them bore the some resembles from the Misty Mountains Goblin-Town's Goblin King, such as his obese and bloated body-shape, thick legs and arms and the massive head. These giant goblins might be slow, but they had high physical strength and the beast-like attitude and yet they had and they were as thick skin as some trolls. Some of these goblins also had deformed faces or abnormally small arms and quite many of them, as the goblins usually are, hunchbacked and their pale-grey skin was full of warts, lumps, and scars, and carries as all goblins do. These giant goblins didn't wear any kind of armor and they carried as their weapons the large wooden spiked maces or hammers, but some of them were marching between of the goblin legions carrying the goblins war-flags above of the army.

 **...**

As the army under of Bolg's leadership marched through of the open fields towards Dale and Erebor...

...the goblin Brutish rode in the back of black-brown warg from the horizon and headed towards the goblin army's generals.

Along with Brutish was the seven goblin hunters in the backs of seven wargs.

Those seven goblins, and the seven wargs, were all what was left from the party of over two hundred goblins and the pack of two hundred wargs that left with Brutish from the Dol Guldur to continue Bolg's mission to hunt down Thorin Oakenshield and his company and had barely survived from the battles with the fierce and deadly smooth woodland elves in the Ambush Mirkwood and the Raid in the Lake-Town during of their hunt...

...the rest of their party and pack were slaughtered by the Thorin's company but mostly by the woodland elves.

"THE ELVES OF WOODLAND!" Brutish exclaimed loudly in the Black Speech and towards Bolg and the other army's goblin generals as he and all remains of his hunting party approached the first ranks of the goblin legions.

Brutish loud and in the air echoing shout caught Bolg's attention from their targets to his incoming brother-in-arms and his band of warg-riders.

It did not took long from Brutish and his band to reach in front of the line of the Goblin Generals and Bolg.

And as Bolg eyes his brother-in-arms, he was expecting to see Brutish holding Thorin's head in his arms...

...but instead, he found his brother-in-arms faces in bruises, in a few scratches, and there was small drain of blood coming from his mouth and nose. It was all from his brutal struggle with the woodland elven prince Legolas in the Lake-Town.

"The Elven King's son and a She-Elf... they tracked us to Lake-Town." Brutish reported, as he rode to next of his brother-in-arms.

Bolg did not respond to Brutish reports at first, but he stopped his White Warg in next to his brother-in-arms warg...

...after which he lifted his left arm above of his head and squeezed his fingers into the fist.

Ragash, one of Bolg's goblin captains and the second-in-command of his army who led the goblin-army partially alongside of his master, lifted his goblin-halberd above of his hand and turned to the army.

"HALT!" He ordered in the Black Speech.

And after that, each massive goblin legion after legion standing and marching behind of Bolg, Brutish, Ragash and the other goblin captains and the remains of Brutish hunters halted immediately in middle of the open field.

And after the massive goblin army had stopped marching...

...Bolg ordered his warg to circle around of his brother-in-arms and his own warg...

...during of which, Bold draw out his new two-handed and heavy goblin-scimitar, forged in the caverns of Dol Guldur just for him, which had a long, wide, curved, one-edged blade, which also had a two-branched tip, of which the inner tip was longer and wider while the outer tip was narrow and shorter.

And with a new blade, Bolg aimed its tips at his brother-in-arms while circling him in the back of his white warg.

"And... did you kill them?" Bolg asked, demanding the answers in the sterns tone of voice, clearly out of disappointment and anger at his brother-in-arms for not succeeding to claim and bring him Thorin Oakenshield's head.

Brutish lowered his head humbly down.

"They fled... squealing like cowards." Brutish responded with the low voice...

...judging from which, along with his head hanging down, it was clear that Brutish bore the burden of great shame, but not for falsely claiming that the elves fled from him but rather by the fact that he himself ran away from the fight with the elves, even though he had the perfect chance to kill the elf prince Legolas when he was distracted by three of his goblin-minions and busy in fending them off after he had threw him to them so that they could finish him off, though the heavily armored goblin had merely used his own goblin minions as the distraction for the elf prince, so that his struggle with them could buy enough time for him to escape from lake-Town, especially after finding out that Thorin was not in there.

Bolg was enraged of these false explanation, though he was unaware of his brother-in-arms cowardly decided retreat from the fight.

"YOU FOOL! The elves of the woodland do not tun from us FOR NOTHING!" Bolg angrily scolded Brutish, who remained to look down in shame.

"And now when they know what we're up to, they will return... WITH AN ARMY OF ELVES AT THEIR BACKS!" Bolg kept scolding his brother-in-arms.

Brutish knew this too well.

Before he had launched his attack upon the fugitive dwarves and the elven guards in the Mirkwood after Thorin's company's narrow escape from the Elven King's Halls, Brutish had taken into account the potential risks, such like the heavy casualties from attacking the elves and revealing their presence to the rest of the elven kingdom and thus making them extra caution about the further goblin-activity and -movements near of their lands.

However, because the escaped dwarves were like in the plate at the Gate of the River of Mirkwood and there was only handful of elven guards, his own arrogance had got best of him and he had launched his ambush against the dwarf fugitives and the elven guards, ignoring all the potential risks and the consequences of their attack near of the elven lands borders.

And now, there was a great chance that the news of the Dragon Smaug's death and the massive goblin-army being on the move and heading towards the Lonely Mountain in the name of the Dark Lord would provoke the Elven King to assemble an army of the woodland elves to fend them off.

And knowing that even a single well-trained and a lot experienced elven soldier, either as swordsman or archer, is capable to take down ten goblin soldiers before being himself killed, meaning that an army of thousands such of elves is capable of cause the heavy casualties to their own ranks with their extremely sharp and deadly swords and spears, extremely strong and far reaching bows and arrows, and for decades, even centuries trained and tested skills, despite having assembled together in Dol Guldur nearly every single goblin and warg from the entire area of the Misty Mountains - from the Cap of Rohan to the Valley of Gundabad - together as a such of goblin-army what has never been seen since the bloody fight between the dwarves and the goblins at the Eastern Gates of Moria a long time ago...

...Bolg had an another mission for Brutish.

So, Bolg took his sword's tips away from Brutish and pointed with them to the North... in the direction of Gundabad.

"Ride to the north. Ride to the Mount Gundabad." Bolg ordered, catching Brutish attention from his burden of shame into him.

"I have received a word that the armies in Mount Gundabad have been assembled and are ready to move. We'll need them soon enough to serve as reinforcement. I want you to go to Gundabad and bring them to the mountain and make them camp behind of the southwestern ridge of the mountain." Bolg added...

...to which Brutish nodded understandably.

"What about the main army, brother?" Brutish asked, knowing that the main army cannot make camp near of the Valley of Dale and the Gates of the Mountain without risking to be detected by the possible human and elven spies.

Bolg turned around and pointed with his sword the high ridges between of them and the Lonely Mountain.

"We shall make our camp underneath of the southeastern ridge of the Mountain, in hide and away from our enemies eyes and to wait... 'till it's time to release the Dark One's will and the iron fist of the goblins upon his enemies. Meet me there, and I tell you more."

Brutish nodded to his brother-in-arms again and was about to take off, until Bolg suddenly stretched out his hand towards Brutish and grabbed him from his right arm to stop him... wrapping his strong fingers around his arm into the squeezing grip to have his attention.

"You have two days. REMEMBER! _Only two days!_ We'll wait until then, and in the third day... _we shall taste the sweetness of dwarven blood and manflesh as a sign of our victory!_ NOW GO!" Bolg ordered sternly.

And with that order, Brutish gestured his remaining goblin-followers and wargs to follow him, as he and his band took off and headed to the north... in the direction of the Mount Gundabad.

And when they were gone, Bolg turned to his army... standing with all mighty of the goblins of the Misty Mountains before him and earning from their general his proud yet vicious grin.

"WE SHALL CAMP FOR TWO DAYS UNDERNEATH OF THE SOUTHEASTERN RIDGE OF THE MOUNTAIN!" Bolg informed to his troops, who eagerly paid all their attention to their leader.

"PREPARE FOR THE THIRD DAY, BECAUSE ON THAT DAY... THOSE FILTHY ELVES... PATHETIC MEN OF LAKE-TOWN... AND THOSE DWARF-RATS! THE MOUNTAIN SHALL BE THEIR TOMB!" Bolg declared loudly.

The entire goblin army let out the mighty and loud roar-like cheering into the air, which sounded like the super-loud thunder as tens of thousands, or hundreds of thousands, goblins cheered for their certain victory over the elves, men and dwarves... and the permanent domination over the North and its kingdoms.

"IN THE NAME OF THE DARK LORD... AND IN THE NAME OF MY FATHER, AZOG THE DEFILER... TO THE WAAAAAAR!" Bolg declared, as he turned his warg around and kept marching towards the mountain.

"FORWARD!" Ragash shouted to the troops, as he lifted his halberd into the air and swung its blade forward as an signal to keep moving.

And with that, the goblin army continued their thundering march towards the Mountain, with the flock of Dol Guldur bats guiding them with the darkness their massive flock shot against the ground, blocking all light.

* * *

 **Small trivia...**

\- While watching some featurette from The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug's Barrel Escape/Ambush of Mirkwood scene, I saw a couple orcs (or goblins) who bore the same features with the Moria Goblins from the Fellowship of the Ring. That inspired me to make an attempt to describe the Dulgur goblins' appearance to be more like Moria goblins rather than Guldur orcs. watch?v=U9hMLC8v0BA

\- Because the goblins from the Goblin Town, along with the wargs, played extremely small part in the BofFA film than what they had in the book, due to Guldur orcs and trolls robbing their role from them, and because the Battle of the Five Armies got originally its seeds from the events of the Goblin Town in the book, I added all the goblins reasons from the book into my story as the reasons why the goblins of the Goblin Town joined into the Dark Lord's army in Dol Guldur with the massive army-forming numbers: Their hatred towards the dwarves, Great Goblin's death and the riches within Erebor.

\- In the book, the army of goblins, wargs and the bats came all mainly from the Mount Gundabad and the Misty Mountains to Erebor, while in the film, the main attacking army came from Dol Guldur in the form of orcs, wargs and deformed trolls and ogres, while from Gundabad came another army in the form of orcs and bats. So I decided to make it in another way in my story, that the main army of goblins, wargs and bats comes from Dol Guldur, and the war-beasts comes instead from Gundabad.

\- I also wanted that Brutish, the goblin to whom I gave one of the film's Bolg's earlier appearance as well as the role from the film, bears some physical marks from the film's Bolg's fight with Legolas in the Lake-Town.


	10. Chapter 10: Day Before War

CHAPTER 10. ONE DAY BEFORE WAR

Gandalf had just arrived to the ruined city of Dale...

...where Bard, with his a new title the Dragon-Slayer and the king of the Dale, and his people of lake-men refugees, who had barely survived from the fiery devastation the Dragon Smaug had laid upon of their currently destroyed Lake-Town until Bard had managed to kill him with the last Black Arrow, were taking the refugee now when there was no any other place for then to go after the burning of the Lake-Town.

And once Gandalf arrived to Dale, he found out that the refugee camp of the lake-men, which had been settled deep within the city, had turned instead into the massive war camp!

The hundreds and hundreds of Lake-men, who were capable to wield the swords, were everywhere in the streets and the market squares of the city preparing for the war by dressing into the old armors of the soldiers of Dale they've found from the old armories of the city and were arming themselves with the old spears, swords, shields and bows from the armories or repairing some slightly rusty and dull blades of swords and spears...

...and in the open market squares they were exercising their archery skills and sword-fighting with each others, while they had also gathered from the armories a lots of weapons, shields, helmets and armors to the squares, so that from Smaug's attack survived weapon smiths could check the condition of arms and armor and decide that whether the weapons and armors were still usable, could they still be repaired or whether they were too rusty and damaged and thus useless for them.

And, among of the for the war preparing and their skills practicing lake-men, there was thousands and thousands into the golden armors and red capes dressed elven soldiers from Mirkwood, who were marching along the streets in the smooth and extremely disciplined patrols or were guarding the walls of Dale with their longbows.

"LET ME THROUGH! MAKE WAY!" Gandalf shouted to the lake-men, who immediately jumped out of incoming wizard's way as he rode through of them along the streets, heading towards the Citadel of the city, the Great Hall, where he believed both the elven-king Thranduil and, whoever was in charge over the lake-town soldiers and citizens, were at the very moment.

He needed to get to them, to find out that what's going on here and to warn them about the great threat that was coming straight towards them from the south.

And once Gandalf reached to there, the Court Yard of the Citadel was full of the lake-men, who were gathering the weapons to there for the weapons smiths to be checked and repaired if needed, while from Smaug's attack survived and war-experienced captains of Lake-Town guard were recruiting and educating newcomers from the lake-men to use the sword, spear and bow and to fight with them, while court yard was surrounded by in the guarding duty standing and in patrols marching elves of Mirkwood.

Gandalf dismounted from the back of his horse and started to walk straight towards the Citadel, that was guarded by some lake-town soldiers, while looking in disbelief at the lake-men in their preparations for war the the large numbers of the elven soldiers.

However, his progress towards the Citadel was halted by the unwelcoming attitude from none but only one person in the presence while the others were busy with their preparations.

"No, no, no, no! Oi! You! Pointy hat!" Into the black dressed Alfrid Lickspittle called with the insulting tone for Gandalf's attention as he emerged out of the gates of the Citadel.

Gandalf turned his attention towards Alfrid, as he started to walk down the stairs, heading towards him and throwing more rudely said words out of his dirty mouth to Gandalf.

"Yes. You there. We don't want no tramps, beggars, traveling merchants, vagabonds nor gaga old gray-bearded men with the pointy hats and walking sticks. We got enough of trouble without the likes of you." Alfrid rudely said as he kept walking towards Gandalf...

...while Gandalf himself, caring less of Alfrid's insults, walked towards the Citadel's gates to ask the speak for the one who's in charge here.

And in Gandalf's eyes, judging from Alfrid's clothes as a secretary of the lake-town, Gandalf believed that he knew that who or where is the one in charge over the Lake-Town refugees... though he felt the great reluctance to ask from this rudely behaving one coming towards him, but the urgency of his message left him with no choice.

"So go on. Off you go. Back on your horse and get out of my sight before I make the guards to throw you out." Alfrid rudely added.

However, Gandalf took a direct action by raising his voice in front of Alfrid, before asking his question.

"BE SILENT!" Keep your with rude words filled tongue behind of your teeth and answer me... who's in charge here?! I demand him to come forth and hear what I have to say!" Gandalf asked strongly, hoping for the one in charge to hear him and come forth to listen to him.

His call was immediately answered, as Bard arrived from the newcomers training area and joined to Gandalf and Alfrid.

"Who's asking?" Bard demanded to know, gaining both Gandalf's and Alfrid's attentions.

Gandalf looked for a while at Bard, before opened his mouth to answer.

"Gandalf. Gandalf the Grey at your service. And who are the one I'm asking to speak with me." Gandalf asked politely, after introducing himself.

"Bard. Bard the Bowman." Bard answered introducing himself, leaving out his a newfound titles, until...

"Bard the Dragon-Slayer... and Bard the King of Dale to you, beggar!" Alfrid added, barking rudely to Gandalf's facesn before turning to Bard with the wide and his usual dirty-teeth baring grin.

"Sire, may I call the guards and throw his beggar out of here?" He asked.

Bard eyed for a while at Gandalf, considering his answer to Alfrid's request.

"No need, Alfrid. I'll hear what he has to say." Bard eventually answered, thus making Alfrid to lose his wide grin from his faces and leaving him dumbfounded.

"My thanks, Bard the Bowman, but I need to speak with you... and the elven-king Thranduil, if the presence of the army of elves means that he is as well in presence... in private meeting. I have an extremely urgent and serious news I want to share only with the leaders of the elves and lake-men." Gandalf said.

"Private meeting granted. Come, we'll keep it in Thranduil's personal tent. He's in the Throne Room of the Citadel. Follow me." Bard said as he gestured Gandalf to follow him to the Citadel, which Gandalf gladly did.

However, Alfrid started to immediately protest.

"A private meeting? What does that beggar means with the private meeting? Is it something what I'm not supposed to hear?" Alfrid said with the protesting tone, gaining both Gandalf's and Bard's annoyed attentions.

"Sire, may I remind you, that that beggar has been in here just a five minutes, and yet you're allowing him to speak with the leaders in private space... and speaking of private meeting, as a secretary of the king of Dale and the ex-master of the Lake-Town, I have a full right to be in presence of the private meeting." Alfrid said.

"Request denied, Alfrid. The private meeting is the matter of between two of us and the elven-king. Besides, there's a lot of work to do, so could you be useful and take our guest's horse to the horse stable." Bard said, as he and Gandalf turned to continue on their way to Thranduil's private tent within the Citadel.

After his request has been denied by Bard and that he was ordered to do some "dirty work in the horse stables," Alfrid frowned out of frustration as he departed from the scene, deliberately ignoring Bard's orders and leaving Gandalf's horse to the concern of the horse keepers.

During of Bard's and Gandalf's walk towards Thranduil's tent, Gandalf turned to Bard.

"While we are walking towards Thranduil's tent, may I ask you, Bard, that what's going on in here? Why the battle-ready army of the elves and all this preparations for the battle?" Gandalf asked, even though he was relieved that the elves of Mirkwood and men of Lake-Town have been allied together and were preparing to battle, but something told him that nothing in their preparations were not for what he had come to warn them about.

 **...**

In a private meeting in Thranduil's tent in the Throne Room of the Dale's citadel, from which opened the wide view over the valley between of the Dale and the Lonely Mountain's gates.

After both Bard and Thranduil have explained to Gandalf the reasons of their peoples preparations of war, which had started after Thranduil had (mostly because of his own personal reasons about the handful of gems, the white gems of the pure starlight) declared the war against the dwarves after Bard's peaceful parley to Thorin, who had barricaded himself into the mountain with the high and strong wall in the place of the gates, to prevent war from coming and reminding Thorin of his promise about the riches as an exchange for helping him and his company of dwarves in their quest had failed.

And after hearing their explonations, Gandalf opened his mouth to speak his message for all of them.

"You must set aside your petty grievances with the Dwarves. War is coming from the south. The cesspits of the fortress of Dol Guldur have been emptied. Our common enemy is on the move from the south and its heading straight towards us. You're all in mortal danger." Gandalf said with the concerned tone of voice.

Both Bard and Thranduil listened what Gandalf just said.

Bard was the first one who openly showed his concern of these news.

"What are you talking about?" He asked.

Gandalf was about to answer to Bard's question, until Thranduil interrupted him.

"I can see you know nothing of wizards." Thranduil said, as he stood up from his chair and began to walk towards the elven-made wooden table that was standing in the middle of his private tent's inside space.

Thranduil had of course listened Gandalf's warnings about the common enemy marching straight towards them from the south and the direction of Dol Guldur, but during of which, the elven-king had immediately took the bored look into his faces...

...apparently telling that unlike Bard, Thranduil wasn't impressed neither concerned of Gandalf's news of towards them incoming common enemy, probably because he was certain, probably even a bit overconfident, about the fact that the incoming common enemy had not even a single match for his own elven army's superior soldiery skills...

...or probably he didn't believe Gandalf's warnings, due to his mind being set upon of the gems within the Lonely Mountain he so firmly desires, as well as getting rid of the dwarves who stands between of him and the gems.

Once Thranduil had reached to the table, he picked from the table the elven-made bottle, from which he dropped the wine down into two elven-made wooden cups and handed one of them for Bard and kept another with himself.

"The wizards... they are like winter thunder on a wild wind, rolling in from a distance breaking hard in alarm." Thranduil said as the elven-king calmly walked next to Bard to his left side, before he turned to Gandalf.

"But sometimes a storm... is just a storm." Thranduil claimed.

"Well, not this time, Thranduil. Even though I wish too that this is just a simply storm but it is not." Gandalf said seriously.

"The armies of Goblins of Moria and the Misty Mountains are on the move, and this is not just about the band of goblin marauders like usually. These ones are in the cruelly disciplined legions marching brutal, vicious and bloodthirsty fighters, that have been bred only for war and mindless killing, and with their numbers bigger than what we've ever seen in our lives since the wars between of them and the dwarves. Nearly every goblin from the Misty Mountain has taken part in this army. Along of them is marching the huge packs of savage wargs and the gigantic swarn of bloodthirsty bats, blocking by their numbers the sunlight from reaching to the ground, thus allowing them to march in the bright daylight. They're led under the command of Bolg of the North, the son of the Azog the Defiler himself."

"But despite his fierceness and ominous fame among his own kind, Bolg is not the true reason to triggering the vast numbers of goblins of Moria into mobilization. The far more greater and ancient Evil that has dwelt in the fortress of Dol Guldur all these years, is true reason behind of the whole existence of such of army. Our true common enemy has summoned his full strength together, and which he has now unleashed upon us." Gandalf said.

Gandalf's mentions about the Dol Guldur and the one he calls "True Common Enemy" reminded Thranduil about the information he had received from goblin, whom the elves had captured during of the ambush the band of goblins launched against his guards in the eastern border of his kingdom, when captured Thorin Oakenshield and his company of dwarves somehow escaped from his dungeons.

The captured goblin had during the interrogation mockingly warned and sadistically revealed in front of him about the destruction coming upon of his kingdom and the Time of the Goblins which the goblin prisoner revealed to be coming soon... including the last information about the soon coming flames of war and the _ONE_ he served... reminding him about the _ONE_ , against of whom he had fought nearly three thousands years ago alongside his own father, who perished on that day on his side.

Knowing fully well that of whom Gandalf was speaking of, Thranduil turned back to Gandalf.

"This enemy could have put this so-called mobilization in the motion a long time ago. Why show his hand now?" Thranduil asked.

"Well, because we forced him." Gandalf simply answered.

Both Gandalf and Bard took the look on their faces, which told to Gandalf that both of them demanded more detailed explanation to his answer.

"Yes, indeed. Our enemy could have done it already a long time ago, but found it unnecessary because of Smaug's own presence, which already kept the area around of Erebor under the fear of the dragon's wrath without his iron grip... and he instead remained to lurking in the shadows, recovering back into his full strength after his long lasted return."

"However, we forced him to act when the company of Thorin Oakenshield was formed and set out to reclaim their homeland back from Smaug." Gandalf revealed.

Gandalf then turned around and walked out of the tent and headed next to the King of Dale's long abandoned Throne to look towards the Lonely Mountain standing with its mightiness in front of them... and was followed by Thranduil and Bard.

"According to the vision I saw in one of the long-lost Palantírs, that I found hidden in Dol Guldur, the dwarves of Thorin's company were never meant to reach Erebor. That's why the enemy formed the alliance with Bolg by using his bitterness and the lust for vengeance he held towards Thorin from the death of his father back in the Battle of Azanulbizar as his advantage, and sent him off to hunt them down and kill them before they'll reach to Erebor." Gandalf said as he shared with Thranduil and Bard everything he had found from the vision he saw from Palantír, that had showed him the whole truth of all of this.

"But the truth to all of this is, that Bolg's master seeks the full control of the Mountain, not just for the treasure within, but for where it lies, its strategic position." Gandalf said, as he nodded his head towards the Mountain.

"If the Mountain falls in the hands of the enemy, along with its neighbor kingdoms of men, elves and dwarves, this will become his gateway to reclaiming the lands of the ancient and long abandoned Witch-Realm of Angmar far in the North." Gandalf continued.

"And if that foul Kingdom should rise again, one by one, the free lands of Middle-Earth from the north to south, Rivendell, Lórien, Shire, Grey Havens, dwarven realm of the Blue Mountains... and even Gondor itself will fall in between of two evil realms." Gandalf said, as he finished everything he had to say to them.

Bard was even more concerned about the news Gandalf just said...

...however, Thranduil still kept his calm and unimpressed expression on his faces.

"One thing about these Goblin armies you speak of, Mithrandir. If everything what did you just said about this is true, then where are they?" Thranduil asked.

Gandalf went speechless after this question.

Bolg and his armies had of course gained the huge head start, after he had got imprisoned into the fortress of Dol Guldur, and in fact, Gandalf was quite surprised that he had reached to the Mountain to warn Thranduil and Bard about the incoming mortal threat from the south a long before the Bolg and his armies.

But he could not say where they were at the moment, if not here already.

 **...**

The answer to Thranduil's question was right behind of the southeastern ridge of the Mountain, where was dug into the solid ground about seven large and wide tunnels that led to beneath of the southeastern ridge of the Mountain. And a wide plateau behind of the ridge was filled with the tens of thousands of heavily armored and armed goblin soldiers in the disciplined units, whom were marching in the lines one by one into the underground tunnels.

The only units who didn't entered into the tunnels, were those goblins who had mounted in the backs of the wargs and the giant wolves and the bats, because the bats' main purpose was to block the sunlight from reaching into the valley, so that the light will not bother the goblins eyes during of the fight and that the warg-riders and wolf-riders served as the cavalry when the attack will be launched.

Ragash was at the moment riding through of one of the tunnels in the back of the grayish-brown warg, as he headed to the entrance of the tunnel, where he met Bolg, who was waiting for Ragash's report about the progress of their preparations with his nine other heavily armored goblin captains, The elite unit of over eighty Bolg's personal heavily armored bodyguard, one hundred of goblin mercenaries from Goblin Town, who were carrying the large horn and banners, plus thirty wargs and fifteen warg-riders.

Other six goblin generals and the unit of seventy sitting on the backs of their still standing wargs, along with Bolg, who was waiting for his last captain's report in the outside of the tunnels entrance.

"Everything is settled, my lord! Our armies will be in positions by dawn! Our attack will be sudden and swift once the command is given." Ragash reported in the Black Speech, as Bolg gave to his white-furred warg the piece of meat to be eaten.

And then, they were then visited by couple armored goblin scouts from the Goblin Town, who rode in the backs of the giant wolves from behind of the ridge to meet Bolg and give their own reports.

"Men and elves are all assembled within the city. Heavy defense and a large number of battle-ready lake-men and elves elite troops." One of the goblins reported to Bolg in the Black Speech.

"And yet there is coming the third army; the army of dwarves, from the eastern hills towards the Mountain, with large and heavy legions, cavalry and war machines." Another goblin said, finishing their reports.

The wide grin appeared in Bolg's faces... this information was too good to be true. Not only leading his armies into the war against the elves and men hiding like cowards within the walls of the city in the Valley, this offered him and his armies the golden opportunity the wipe out another great number of dwarves in Durin's line within one day... which will be the huge progress in his father's life-goal in wiping out the whole blood-line of Durin.

However, while eyeing his goblin scouts, Bolg sensed the strong scent of their nervousness.

"Are they aware of our presence? Do they expect or suspect our attack." Bolg asked, disgusted of the goblin scouts cowardly nervousness.

"No, master. None in the city seems to be aware of our presence, least about our attack." One of the goblins answered.

"The incoming army of dwarf-rats is big, but not as big as the army of filthy elves within the city." Another goblin answered.

"But its the facing of the dwarves and elves united their superior soldiery skills against us. They will take a lot of us down." Another one of the goblins said, openly revealing the reason of their nervousness.

Bolg snorted loudly out of disgust and frustration of their nervousness.

Bolg was still well aware of the old and still fiercely burning old grudges between of elves and dwarves for many centuries, so he was convinced that it was impossible if those two people would willingly unite with each others... except if they're forced to face together the common enemy of all peoples of Middle-Earth.

Bolg turned from the goblin scouts to the large entrances to the underground tunnels in the wall of the ridge, and watched the goblin legions entering in the underground, where the goblin army had settled to rest after the long march to gather their strength and wait for the good opportunity and attack command to launch their full attack upon the valley and everybody who stands in there at tomorrow's dawn.

"You fools! They might have the superior soldiery skills, but we have superior numbers and the biggest advantage for the surprise attack from their unawareness. Because those fools have forgotten what lives beneath these lands." Bolg said, as he climbed onto the back of his warg and rode with his captains and other minions a bit further away from the ridge to show his scouts of his massive armies marching into the underground tunnels one large unit after another.

" _THEY HAVE FORGOTTEN... THE GREAT EARTH-EATERS!_ " Bolg declared, as to his declaration was answered by the loud and deep thunder-sounding and devouring-like voice coming from the darkness of the underground tunnels.

The Dark Lord that dwelt in the darkness of Dol Guldur had summoned from the Eastern Deserts to his armies aid about seven gigantic and massive creatures of the ancient world, what Bolg called Earth-Eaters... the Were-worms, large worm-like creatures, which had not seen for the thousands years and were labelled as a mere myth in the many stories.

The Were-worms, by the orders of the Dark Lord, had with their massive strength dug the six large tunnels deep into the solid ground, forming the large underground cavern beneath of the southeastern ridge of the Mountain, where the legions of goblins had then afterwards marched to make their war camp and wait for their opportunity to attack to the Valley... as well as waiting for Brutish and his war-beast reinforcements from Gundabad to join them.

However, Brutish had managed to arrive to their camp a day earlier than expected.

As the troops were moved into the caverns beneath of the southeastern ridge of the Mountain, Bolg and Brutish were speaking with each others, during of which Brutish confirmed in his report that the word Bolg had received about the massive goblin legions of Gundabad - along with the savage herd of goblin berserkers and the regular eagle-sized and more vicious for the war bred bats of Gundabad - having been assembled, battle-ready and right on their way towards the Mountain under of his command.

(As early said) Since the chaos the company of dwarves had caused in the Goblin Tunnels in the High Pass, including the death of the Goblin King, the goblins of every goblin-populated huge underground caverns beneath of the Misty Mountains from the High Pass to the north, at least all those whom had not joined as mercenaries to the army of the Guldur Moria goblins, had been gathering with the large numbers within and around of the Mount Gundabad after the word of the death Great Goblin had spread like the wild fire or plague among of the numerous underground goblin-populated caverns and colonies... and the re-triggered the deep hatred towards the dwarves in the goblins evil hearts - as well as their lust for vengeance against them for the death of Azog the Defiler in the past - had drawn even more goblins to travel from the Hills of Ettenmoors, Mountains of Angmar and Grey Mountains to Gundabad, where they have forged weapons and armor, made the unholy alliances with the monsters and prepared their war machines for days, until there was standing the Third Age's most greatest ever seen army of goblins and other monsters such as has not been seen since the Great War between the dwarves and goblins, and that the army was twice larger than what the army from Dol Guldur was... battle-ready and within their all minds the only one goal; to claim the domination of the North for themselves by destroying the kingdoms of the men, elves and dwarves... and yet their motivation had got even more fire after the news of the dragon Smaug's death, which they saw as an good opportunity to launch their full-scale attack upon the Mountain.

After arrival to the Gundabad, Brutish had immediately taken the full leadership over of these armies and led them off from the Mount Gundabad.

However, Brutish had separated from Gundabad's head army nearly all war-beasts and ordered the higher goblin captains to lead the main army towards the West Ridge of the Mountain, while he himself leads nearly all the war-beasts his brother-in-arms ordered from Gundabad through the shortcut.

Brutish had then arrived to the enters of Bolg's underground war-camp after the nightfall, through of underground tunnel leading from the northern border of the Mirkwood to the southeastern ridge of the Mountain, dug by the seventh gigantic were-worm, through of which Brutish had brought the Gundabad's war-beast reinforcements to join Bolg's army.

Brutish had brought with him through the underground tunnel, the cavalry of the goblin archers, who were riding in the backs of the huge and monstrous black dire-birds of Gundabad and the massive swarm of smaller but still various-sized were-worms with the snake-like bodies, monstrous mouths with the monstrous fangs and four lizard-like clawed limbs...

...the massive group of several dozens of 9-12 ft tall pale-gray-skinned Gundabad Ogres, along with the several much larger individuals, which were about 25 feet tall. Neither of the ogres wore the heavy metal armor but the smaller ones of them wielded the large wooden clubs fitted with iron spikes and the bigger ones the gigantic steel iron maces with the spikes. One of the ogres, more muscular one, was equipped with a stone headpiece upon his head and who was supposed to serve as the living battering ram, while some ogres were carrying the tall and wide ladders in their backs. And among of the largest ogres was also some, who were truncated at the limbs, and whose arms were replaced with the chained hideous-looking flails, and their legs were replaced with the wrecking ball-like maces. They were blinded by piercing their eyes and there was chains fixed from these ogres eye sockets to a chair on their backs, enabling them to be controlled by a goblin driver.

...and finally, the massive white-furred and 25 feet tall mountain apes, who were carrying the large wooden catapult mechanisms on their backs and having the small armored crew of Misty Mountains goblins operating it.

And when the war-beasts entered into the caverns beneath of the southeastern ridge of the Mountain, Brutish had finally finished his report.

Bolg was even more than just satisfied of the arrangement of the troops, because even though the goblin army coming from Dol Guldur could suffer the huge casualties in front of the heavy defense of the city of men and in front of the elves superior soldiery skills when it's time to launch the attack, despite the fact that the allied men and elves in the valley are still greatly outnumbered, besieging the city would cut from the elves and men any chances to escape from the Valley and with the massive reinforcements from Gundabad when they arrive to join the battle - let it be the open battle or siege of the city - the goblin legions would be able to surround all what's left from their enemies from every corner and eventually crush them down between of two fronts!

And even then if the battle is already over and the Mountain is conquered when the reinforcements arrive, with the armies of Gundabad they would be able to conquer afterwards the elven realm of woodland... and especially, the dwarf kingdom in the eastern Iron Hills, due to the fact the those Hills are ruled by the another dwarf, whose head was also as Bolg's target for his part in the permanent downfall of his father.

"The reinforcements will be here tomorrow, ready to drink the dwarf blood, taste the man flesh and slaughter the filthy elves!" Brutish added.

"Excellent!" Bolg snarled with the sadistic pleasure.

"Go back to the legions of Gundabad and keep them behind of the hill in the West Ridge of the Mountain, on which lies the old ruined fort and tower, on the top of which I'll place my his command post and the garrison to protect it. Meet me there once you've arrived. Now, go!" Bolg ordered.

And with the command, Brutish squeezed his hand into the fist and hit with it against his chest, before he climbed back onto his warg and disappeared back into the tunnel the gigantic were-worm had dug from Gundabad to here for the war-beasts of Gundabad.

And after Brutish was gone, Bolg then turned his warg around and gestured his captains, bodyguards, goblin mercenaries and pack of wargs and warg-riding soldiers to follow him.

"Come, we're gonna rotate the Mountain to behind of its west ridge undetected by the enemy, and we shall then settle our command post on the top of the fort's ruined tower. We must be ready before the dawn. On the move!" Bolg ordered, as he departed with his personal garrison for the hill in the West Ridge called... the Ravenhill.

* * *

 **Small trivia.**

\- While watching the BotFA movie the first time, including the extended edition, I clearly saw the overweening pride in Thranduil's voice during of his, Gandalf's and Bard's private talking, and I also wanted to give the reasons to it, which were either the unmatched superior soldiery skills of the elves or those gems Thranduil fiercely desired.

\- I also wanted to add into this chapter that Bolg will be aware of incoming dwarf army and gets prepared to the dwarves war-tricks during the battle. The armies of evil being aware of the incoming dwarves presence wasn't part of the main role in the book and film, because the goblins/orcs just came and attacked everybody in the Valley.

\- I also wanted to add the goblins original reason/motivations and the goblins original mobilization to go to war against the free peoples of Eriador from the book... which in my opinion should have been the reason for Gundabad armies being involved to the war in the film.

\- I also admit that I may have done a bit excessive adaptations to Gandalf's movie lines when he tells about the incoming threat to Thranduil and Bard.


	11. Chapter 11: The Clouds Burst

CHAPTER 11. THE CLOUDS BURST

Thorin  
 _I will have war!_

* * *

After the peace negotiation between Bard, Thranduil and the dragon-sickness possessed Thorin and the attempt to trade the Arkenstone with the share of the treasure Thorin promised to the people of Laketown as an exchange for their help for his company in their quest to reclaim their homeland and to avoid the bloodshed had failed after arrival of raven Roäc and Thorin's final answer...

...the massive, heavily armored and armed and with the heavy steps marching dwarf armies appeared on the top of the East Saddle of the mountain, along with a several dwarf-chariots before the front lines of the army, each of which was pulled by six giant rams and crewed with four dwarves and armed with the large bolt launcher.

And they were led by the red-bearded dwarf, who was riding in the back of the war-hog and was dressed in the heavy and royal armor, over of which the dwarf wore the thick fur-cape. The dwarf also had the shiny helmet upon of his head, above of which was standing the decoration, which resembled the golden wild boar with the red mane. And as his weapon, the dwarf carried the red double-bladed axe, in which wide and red bladed had been carved the wild boar in each side of the blade.

Gandalf recognized this dwarf at first sight.

"Ironfoot." Gandalf whispered.

The massive dwarf armies of the Iron Hills then stopped still on the top of the steep hill in the eastern side of the gates of Erebor.

Their presence prompted Thorin's heavily outnumbered company to cheer at the arrival of the reinforcements in the battle-ready state, despite having been marched day and night from the Iron Hills to here...

...while the dwarf army's arrival and the whole presence prompted Thranduil and reluctant Bard to break the siege upon the gates of Erebor and both kings ordered their troops of elves and men to turn away from the Mountain to face the dwarf army in the upcoming open battle.

And as the army remained on the top of the steep hill, the dwarf-lord called Ironfoot kept riding in the back of his war-hog down the hill to meet the alliance of the Mirkwood elves and Lake-men from close or to offer them his terms before the bloodshed...

...and while riding down the hill, the dwarf lord turned his look towards the sealed gates of Erebor, seeing Thorin and his company in there dressed into the dwarf armors from the Erebor's armory.

"HI, THORIN!"

"IRONFOOT HAS COME!" Thorin's company cheered from the gates.

While walking with Gandalf in the ranks of the elves, Bilbo eyed on the back of the war-hog incoming dwarf for a while, before he turned to Gandalf.

"Gandalf, who is that? He doesn't look very happy to see us." Bilbo asked from about the situation concerned Gandalf.

"I'm afraid that he isn't at all. His name is Dain, Dain II Ironfoot. Lord of the Iron Hills. Thorin's cousin." Gandalf answered with the worry filled voice.

"Are they alike?" Bilbo asked.

Gandalf let out the sad sight for that question.

"Unfortunately, I've always found Thorin the more reasonable of the two." Gandalf answered, sounding even more worried now as he walked ahead...

...meaning that even though Dain may have his own terms for the opponents, he was a quite stubborn to both listen and agree to others terms and is quite impatient and short-tempered if his terms aren't answered in his way and will show - or more likely use - the raw force as an proof that how serious he is in his words.

After hearing this, Bilbo let out the worried sight, seeing already that this was not going to end well, before he continued after Gandalf.

As the army of elves reached on the feet of the steep hill, Dain arrived in front of all of them and directed his war-hog to go on the top of from the ground emerging boulder.

"Good morning! How are we all?" Dain politely wished and asked as he stopped his war-hog on the top of the boulder.

It was followed by for the moment lasting silence, during of which the soldiers and the armed men of Lake-town stared nervously at the dwarf lord, while the elves calmly stood still.

Dain then broke the silence by opening his mouth to speak.

"I have a wee proposition which I would like to offer you, if ye wouldn't mind givin' me a few moments of yer time." Dain said to everybody in the presence, while Bilbo and Gandalf were listening in the ranks of the nervous lake-men.

"Would ye consider... JUST SODDING OFF?!" Dain roared, as his polite and calm attitude suddenly changed into hostile and demanding, with his voice echoing in the air space in front of the gates of Erebor.

ALL OF YOU, RIGHT NOW! OR DO I HAVE TO KICK ALL OF YOU OUT OF HERE WITH MY IRON FOOT?! I'LL NOT ASK THIS FOR THE SECOND TIME! OR ELSE I'LL ALLOW OUR AXES TO SPEAK FOR US!" Dain added, as he nearly stood up from his saddle.

The reaction of the allied elves and men were versatile.

Soldiers and armed lake-men instantly out of nervousness and fear backed off from the first ranks of the elves' army, trying to get far away from the angry dwarf-lord, but the elves stood calmly still, with their spearmen taking the battle-ready position and the elves' swordsmen raising their elven blades up and getting themselves ready to the fight.

"Stand fast!" Bard ordered, trying to calm down his people.

Dain then sit back onto the saddle and eyes the armies of elves and men, waiting for the response.

Gandalf, saw this as an good opportunity to speak Dain out of this, or at least try, and he stepped out of the ranks of men, while Bilbo remained with them.

"Come now, Lord Dain." Gandalf called, getting Dain's attention from the elves and men to him.

"Gandalf the Grey." Dain said, as Gandalf lowered his head down in front of the lord of the Iron Hills to show the respect for the dwarf-lord, before saying what he has to say to Dain before it's too late.

Dain opened his mouth at first to speak.

"As the only one they're willing to listen, would you tell this rabble to leave, before I'll water the ground with their blood!" Dain asked, as he turned his angry look from Gandalf to the elven army in front of him.

Gandalf knew that he was probably merely wasting his time by trying to reason with impatient and short-tempered Dain, but due to the far more serious threat being incoming towards the Mountain from the south while they were still having the ill feelings towards each others and were even at the verge of the war between of each other...

...Gandalf was left with no choice and he had to try.

"I would remain in neutral of this..." Gandalf started.

"But now I'm trying to tell all of you that there is no need for war between Dwarves, Men, and Elves. Far more greater threat will be soon upon all of us, as the massive legions of the goblins are marching upon the mountain, with the gigantic pack of wargs in their train and the bats flying above of their army, blocking with their massive flocks the sunlight from reaching to the ground and allowing the goblins to march in the bright daylight. They're led by the Bolg of the North, the same Bolg whose father you engaged and slayed along with Thorin in the battles of Moria. Now he's coming to take violently over these lands and he'll destroy anyone who stands between of him and the Mountain." Gandalf said.

"They'll be here by any second, but every moment when they are not here yet, there's yet time for council. Just stand down your armies, Dain." Gandalf pleaded.

However, just as he expected...

"I will not stand down before any elf." Dain declared stubbornly...

...earning the desperate look from Gandalf.

"Don't say that you too don't believe me!" Gandalf said with the desperate tone.

"I see with my very own eyes the army of the elves, that is besieging my kin's reclaimed homeland with the force of arms as Roäc, son of Carc, and lord of the ravens told me, nothing else. And I repeat myself, that I will not stand down before any elf!" Dain added.

And then, Dain turned from Gandalf to Thranduil on the back of the giant stag, pointing him with his red axe.

"And I will not stand down before this faithless woodland sprite. He wishes nothing but ill upon my people... do not even think that I've forgotten how that dishonorable pointy-eared buffoon turned his back to my kin's sufferings and pleads for help... and yet he stands like a foe before the defended walls or our reclaimed homeland!" Dain said while keeping his angry stare at Thranduil, who calmly and unhurt listened Dain's disdain towards him.

"And now I'll say, that if he chooses to stand between me and my kin, I'LL SPLIT HIS PRETTY HEAD OPEN WITH MY AXE!" Dain loudly declared.

However, even having received such of threat upon of him from Dain, the mocking smirk appeared to Thranduil's lips, which only added even more Dain's hatred and disdain for him.

"We'll see if he's still smirking then!" Dain added furiously, before he turned his war-hog around and rode back towards his army.

"Dain! Wait!" Gandalf called after him, but Dain ignored him and kept riding back to the other dwarves.

Thorin's company cheered from the sealed gate at Dain as he rode back towards his army...

...while Gandalf watched after him distressed, as he knew that he had failed to stop the bloodshed between of the elves, men and the dwarves.

However, Thranduil remained calm as he followed Dain riding back to his army.

"Big words from that bearded old fool with a pig as his ridiculous war-mount." Thranduil said with the mocking tone.

Gandalf turned from Dain to Thranduil, still distressed of incoming events following Thranduil's and Dain's brief but hostile discus.

"I would not urge you to underestimate nor even insult the dwarves, Thranduil. It only prompts them to strike even harder." Gandalf said...

...but he was both ignored and dismissed by Thranduil.

"Then let those fools advance. Let's see how far they'll get." Thranduil said.

However, Dain overheard this, as well as Thranduil's insults for him.

"You think I give a dead dog for your threats, ya pointy-eared princess?"Dain asked tauntingly from Thranduil while riding up the hill, igniting the elven-king's fury.

Dain then turned to his army, as he was about to reach them.

"You heard that, lads? That pointy-eared princess called me "bearded old fool" and he has insulted my war-mount... and now he has rejected my proposition and decided to stand between of us and our homeland." Dain spoke loudly to his army.

"Then so be it! They've made their choice! Let's give these bastards a good hammering... on dwarves' way!" Dain added.

And right after Dain's call for war, one of his dwarven generals riding in the armored war-goat in front of the first lines of the army opened his mouth.

"IFRIDÎL, YANÂD DURINUL/ _MAKE READY, SON'S OF DURIN!_ " The dwarf general shouted.

"KHAZÂD AI-MÊNU!/ _THE DWARVES ARE UPON YOU!_ " The entire dwarf army loudly declared.

Thranduil, however, was unmoved of the dwarves way of declaring the war.

"Fools! They do understand nothing about the war above ground, whatever they know the battle in underground." Thranduil said angrily and with the low voice, before the elven-king turned to his forces and ordered the elves' spearmen and archers in front.

And then, Thranduil rode towards Bard and his men.

"Stand your men down, Bard. I'll deal with Ironfoot and his rabble... personally." Thranduil said, ordering Bard and his army to stay out of the upcoming battle between of his and Dain's armies, which he called "personal."

Bard was himself was as distressed as Gandalf, that this is gonna end up into bloodshed despite of their attempts to avoid it.

However, he ordered his army to stand aside from this by Thranduil's orders and by his own unwillingness to get his hands dirty from the dwarf blood and to be with his people involved to this senseless war.

And once Dain reached to his army, he turned to his generals.

"Alright then, let's get this done." Dain said, earning the nods of agreement from his generals.

"Send in the goats!" Dain ordered.

"IFRIDÎL!" One of the generals ordered towards their army...

...and within the seconds, the dwarf soldiers in each lines of their army formed the dozens and dozens narrow passageways through of their ranks, through of which moved in front of the army the heavily armored cavalry of goat-riding dwarves...

...until about roughly over one thousand and five hundred goat-riding dwarves were standing in front of the dwarf infantry.

Dain then made his way to the another boulder in front of his army, before he gave the order to attack.

"IH-GIRÎ NI-HUN!/ _RIGHT INTO THEM!_ " Dain ordered as he pointed with his axe at the elves' ranks down the hill as a signal, and within the seconds after the command was given, the entire dwarves' cavalry was charging in the full speed down the hill towards the elves' ranks with the spears, dwarf swords and ax/hammer combined heavy weapons.

And one the dwarf cavalry's charge had began, Thranduil gave his command, and within the seconds his army's hundreds and hundreds of elf-archers placed the arrows in their longbows and tensed the bowstrings backwards as they pulled the bows up, ready to fire their arrows and eliminate the dwarves' cavalry with the one volley, before they could get in the touch with their ranks.

"THRANDUIL! THIS IS MADNESS!" Gandalf shouted from behind of the elven ranks, trying for the last time speak some sense into the elven-king, but he was too late...

...as the dwarves' cavalry charged within the range of the elves' bows, Thranduil ordered his archers to fire a volley of arrows at the dwarves' goat cavalry.

The elves released the grip from their bowstrings and send the massive volley of elves' arrows to fly in arch towards the dwarves' cavalry, and there was heard the hissing sound of the thousands of in the air flying elves' arrows as they flew towards the dwarves goat-riders.

"BARUK KHAZÂD! _AXES OF DWARVES!_ " Dain ordered by raising his ax in the air, before he waved his ax down.

And with that, the Dwarves countered to the elves' volley of arrows by firing with their nine heavy ballistas the line of large javelins with spinning tails behind them over of the dwarves' ranks, and once the line of javelins with the spinning tails reached on the way of the elves' arrows, they shredded within seconds the entire hail of arrows and allowed the dwarves' cavalry to continue their advance...

...until all nine javelins crashed into the elven ranks before the elves were able to scatter out of their way, with their still spinning tails ending up to violently slicing dozens and dozens of elves apart and tossing several of them with the deadly power all around from their point of impact... much to Thranduil's shock and anger.

"Hey, pointy-eared princess! How did you like of the old _twirley-whirlies_?" Dain asked with the taunting tone.

"We got to you before you even got to us! Ha, ha, you buggers!" Dain tauntingly laughed.

Filled by the anger, Thranduil ordered another volley of arrows to be released, which from the dwarves first devastating blow recovered and regrouped elf archers fired towards the dwarves' cavalry, which the dwarves countered again with another spinning ballistas shot that shredded the hail of arrows and crashed into the elves' ranks again with the similar devastating consequences like in the first round, that caused the large casualties to the elves...

...and the dwarves' cavalry just kept approaching towards the heavily with the spinning-tailed javelins destroyed and scattered elven ranks.

However, as the dwarves' cavalry reached closer of the elves' ranks, the elven archers retreated behind of the elves' spearmen ranks, who raised their shields up and lowered their spears down, ready for the impact against the dwarves' cavalry.

And once in the verge of the impact, the first elven spearmen lines separated from the rest of the army and formed the sloping shield phalanx with their shields as the dwarves goats were about to hit to their ranks.

This was followed by the ful chaos.

As the dwarves' cavalry finally reached to the elves, some of their goats keep going or bounced over the elves shields, but most of the dwarves' goat-mounts were either halted back by the elven shields or either goat-mounts ended up to the elven spears and were speared to death by the elves, and the elves' archers freely fired their arrows over of the ranks of spearmen towards following dwarves goat-riders and their goat-mounts, killing dozens and dozens of dwarves and goats from the close-proximity, before they even reached to the first lines of the elven soldiers.

And as for the dwarves who reached behind of the first elves' lines, from the dwarves javelin attacks recovered and back into the ranks reformed elves formed the tunnels and funneled the Dwarves in, where the both dwarves and their goat-mounts were slaughtered from each side by the elven spears and arrows.

However, despite suffering casualties for over half of their entire cavalry by the elves' archers and spears and despite most of the elves holding firmly on their ground, some of their goats were able to avoid the spears and arrows, along with their dwarf riders, and ram into the elves' ranks, knocking down dozens of elves over to the ground and breaking their ranks, some of them even reaching to the archers and causing them to halt their fire, allowing even more of dwarves' goat riders to break deeper into their ranks, where the dwarves' riders killed with their spears, swords, axes and war-hammers several elves before they were either killed or their goat-mounts were halted by firmly on their ground standing elves' spearmen.

And as the dwarves' cavalry had successfully managed to break some holes into the elves' ranks and reached to their archers, halting their fire, Dáin and half of his heavy infantry soon charged down the hill towards the elves' ranks... while another half of his army remained in the middle of the hill as an reinforcements.

Dain's war-hog pushed with ease through of the line of the elves' spearmen, knocking nearly dozen of elves' soldiers over to the ground with one push while Dain himself chopped the heads off from some elves' spearmen with his red axe, and allowing Dain's goat-mounted dwarven generals and his bodyguard to push into the elves' ranks, killing dozens of elves on their way...

...while the heavy dwarf-infantry, suffering some dozens of casualties among their ranks from the elven arrows fired into the front lines of their army, clashed into the ranks of the elves' spearmen, resulting in the large and bloody massacre that claimed nearly into the hundreds reaching number of elves and dwarves.

Thorin's company watched from the sealed gate of Erebor the bloody brawl between of Dain's and Thranduil's forces.

However, some of the company's dwarves, Balin, Bofur and especially Kili - due to his relationship with the particular elven woman named Tauriel - as the best example, weren't at all happy with seeing the bloodshed, which could have been avoided.

Before both sides suffer even heavier casualties than what they had already suffered, there was then the deep thundering and the ground shaking sound that came from the Eastern Ridge of the Mountain next to the city of Dale, which caught Gandalf's, Bilbo's, Bard's and the army of lake-men attentions.

The deep and thundering sounds in underground reached even into the ears of the battling elves and dwarves ears despite the loud war-cries and the metal's clash against the metal, and slowly but certainly, one by one, the elves and the dwarves, including Thranduil and Dain, stopped instantly fighting each other and all turned to the direction of the sounds.

Even Thorin Oakenshield's company's attentions were caught by the sounds, which draw their attention from the halting battle to the Eastern Ridge of the Mountain.

From all of them, Gandalf was the only one who recognized the makers of this strange deep and thunderous sound.

"Were-worms!" Gandalf whispered in horror.

And with no time, the first massive-sized were-worm burst from the earth, roaring at the armies at the gates of Erebor, before the first were-worm was folloed by the others, whose burst one by one out from the earth beneath of the Eastern Ridge.

"OH! C'mon!" Dain said as he stared at the massive creatures with the others.

The leaders of the armies of men, elves and dwarves were left all surprised, confused and speechless as even more similar creatures came roaring out of the ground like earthworms during of the rain.

And within the seconds, right after their appearance, the were-worms retreated back into the earth instead of attacking the armies at the gates of Erebor, leaving behind of them seven-eight gaping holes in the ground... much to the armies relief.

However, their relief soon faded away as they realized the truth of the were-worms brief appearance and then them retreating back into the ground.

Meanwhile, on the top of the ruined fortress of the Ravenhill, Bolg of the North along with his goblin generals, had finished of erection of their command post on tops of the tower and were ready to make their move onto the armies in the Valley.

"IN THE DAME OF THE DARK ONE... AND IN THE NAME OF MY FATHER, AZOG THE DEFILER... COME... FORTH, MY ARMIE'EEEEEES!" Bolg shouted loudly, that his voice echoed over of the valley bellow.

And with that, two goblin generals spread their bigger four-winged war-banners wings into wide, while two other goblin generals pulled the secondly largest war-banner's right wing up... and the first goblin general blew into the large horn on the top of the tower, from which the loud and coarse sound spread over the air space of the valley.

And with that, the massive armies of goblins burst out of the holes like the army of black ants.

This first wave of goblins was formed mostly into the bugs' shells resembling black armors dressed and mostly over dwarf-sized goblins from the Goblin-Town, who had joined their forces with the Dark One of Dol Guldur out of their old grudges and the lust for revenge against the dwarves for the death of the Great Goblin.

And along of them, there was also a bit man-sized goblins from the mines of Moria.

Most of these goblins had dressed into the Moria goblins' long-skirted chain armor shirts, but instead of wearing the spiky and sharp chest armor of the goblins of Moria, they were dressed into the heavy goblin-made armors made of rounded or pointed metal scales, over of which they used from the animals' skins or thick fur, even from the men or dwarves' bearded scalps, made dirty and torn rags and tunics, but some of them of course used the Moria goblins' spiked chest armor over of their tunics instead of using the scale armors under of them.

And, most of these goblins used the helmets of the Goblins of Moria, but some of them didn't even wear the helmets and fought either their heads bare, covered with the leather hoods or they wore from the wolves/wargs head scalps made headgears over their heads.

The Goblin-Town wielded a mixed weaponry of from the wood, stone and bones made short, curved and coarse swords, small goblin-made wooden bows, the spears, axes and daggers with a long wooden handles and a different shaped and coarse blades made out of stone, clubs made out of the humans', dwarves' and animals skulls, into which the goblins had attached the bone spikes.

But all the goblins coming from Moria/Dol Guldur carried the swords with the swords with the same long and narrow triangular shaped and coarse design like with the heavy goblin swordsmen infantry's swords and their shields. And into their armament belonged also the short and for the close combat designed or thrownable goblin-spears with the long, wide- and serrated-blades, the long, curved and serrated-bladed goblin-daggers, a huge goblin-axes with the crescent-shaped wide and heavy blades, goblin-made two-handed war hammers,a long and vicious-looking spiked maces, short-handled goblin halberds meant for the close combat, from the armory of Moria stolen dwarves' axes and war-hammers, and the goblins' own the close-combat goblin-bows.

And once the goblins burst out of the holes in the ground and moved from each hole towards each others to link the armies into the one massive horde of goblins, the gigantic pack of howling wargs and giant-wolves along with their warg-riding goblins appeared on the top of the Eastern Ridge, from where many of the goblins and their mounted or dis-mounted wargs then charged down the Eastern Ridge's hill to join to the goblins first wave while majority stayed still on the top of the ridge.

And finally, from behind of the Eastern and western ridge and from behind of the Mountain appeared into the air space of the valley the massive and thick flock of the black vampire bats of Dol Guldur. And thanks to the arrival of the bats, whose flock was so dense that the daylight could not reach to the ground between of their wings, the massive darkness followed their flock with a dreadful swiftness as the darkness spread upon the entire Valley.

"ANSARU, BEKÂR!/ _Company, weapons!_ " Dain called to his armies.

"THE HORDES OF HELL ARE UPON US AND OUR HOMELAND! TO BATTLE! TO BATTLE, SONS OF DURIN!"

Upon the arrival of the new enemy, which was coming from the Eastern Ridge as a massive wave, all from the brutal brawl with the elves survived dwarves of the first half of Dain's entire army immediately forget the elves and rushed out from the elven ranks to face the incoming waves of goblins, while the survived elves regrouped and reformed their ranks and remained behind, waiting for Thranduil's orders.

 **...**

Also the Thorin's company on the sealed gates of Erebor saw the incoming wave of the goblins.

"I'm going over the wall. Who's with me?" Bofur said, more than just willing to fight the enemy that was worth of killing.

All dwarves cheered as an agreement, ready to go to the fight and crying the encouraging war-cries.

However, Thorin, whose Dragon-Sickness was taking even firm grip from him, slowly turned away, caring nothing about the outside events,

"Stand down." Thorin firmly ordered.

The dwarves of his company were rather shocked after hearing such of order, as they watched as Thorin slowly walked away from the wall, turning his back to the events and armies outside the Mountain - even to his own kin out there - and started to walk into the Mountain.

"Are we to do nothing?" Nori asked, with the shocked and confused tone.

However...

"I said, STAND DOWN!" Thorin ordered, even more firm and even angry voice.

Such of shocking order coming from the one dwarf, whom he would have gladly followed, and even called king, left Balin under of desperate and sorrow... because he would never have believed that his friend would have turned his back so selfishly like that to his own kin outside of the Mountain.

 **...**

And in the battlefield, Bilbo noticed that the elves didn't do anything to fight the newly arrived goblins and wargs. They just stood still in their reformed ranks.

"The elves... will they not fight?" Bilbo asked from Gandalf, who watched in concern from aside with the armed lake-men as the dwarves were the only ones who made their stand against the incoming wave of goblins and wargs.

Gandalf also knew too well that despite the dwarves stubbornness, their firm will to fight and their a tough military discipline, the dwarves lines won't last long against the massive wave of goblins and wargs... but they will be all crushed within minutes without the help and support from the other armies, no matter about the ill feelings and old grudges between of them in the face of the new and far more dangerous enemy.

Gandalf then turned to Thranduil, who was intensely reluctant to participate in the fight... especially alongside the dwarves.

"THRANDUIL! FORGET EVEN FOR ONCE YOUR PRIDE AND DO SOMETHING! IT'S PURE MADNESS TO NOT STAND AGAINST THE ENEMY THAT IS THE COMMON ENEMY OF ALL OF US!" Gandalf shouted, attempting to convince the pride-filled elven-king to make his stand against the goblins and wargs alongside the dwarves, despite the old grudges between of two people.

As the dwarves charged towards the enemy, all the dwarf pikemen suddenly and quickly formed the firm shieldwall and stand their ground, lowering their pikes down ready and getting themselves ready to face the goblins in the close combat, as the dwarven swordsmen and axemen gathered behind of their pikemen.

"RAKÂN! BEKÂR AI-RUSÊ!/ _LINES! WEAPONS UPON THE FILTH!_ " One of from the brawl with the elves survived dwarf generals shouted.

"IFRIDÎL!" The dwarves shouted, as their prepared for the impact against the goblins and wargs towards them charging massive wave of goblins.

However, before the goblins and wargs collided with the dwarves, out of surprise for both the dwarves and goblins, the several hundreds of elven swordsmen in three long lines bounced over of the dwarves' battle lines/heads and launched a surprise frontal attack deep into the front lines of the goblins... presumably Thranduil having for now let go of his pride and relenting to give his help and support (though a bit reluctantly at first) for the dwarves against their common enemy.

Using their centuries of training and their mastery of wielding the elven-blades, the elves moved swiftly and elegantly like the dancers deeper into the goblins ranks and they wielded their long elven-blades deadly masterly, directing them with their skillful hands from side to side, killing hundreds of goblins in the process and suffering themselves extremely minor casualties.

This distraction given by the elves surprise-attack was enough for the dwarves to break their shieldwall and charge into the ranks of the goblins with their shields up and their down lowered long pikes in front, which skewered hundreds of goblins and even some wargs into their pikes and the dwarves' lines kept advancing deeper into the goblin army, wiping out with ease the dozens of goblin ranks with their pikes, swords and axes along with the elves.

The rest of the armies of elves and dwarves started to make their move towards the enemy, even some Lake-Town swordsmen joined to them to battle, though majority of the lake-men remained to stand with Bard, ready to give their support for the elves and dwarves when needed.

With the cold and bitter hatred they harbored for the goblins even more that what they did for the dwarves, the elven spearmen launched their own onslaught upon the goblin ranks, halting them back with their large golden leaf-shaped shields and wiping out the enemy lines one by one with their deadly spears.

And the elven swordsmen, armed with the swords and shields and accompanied by the two hundred of Laketown's swordsmen from Bard's army, clashed against the goblins own swordsmen, but thanks to the superior military skills of the elves and the support of the Laketown's swordsmen, the goblins suffered the heavier losses than what the men and elves did, as even a one single elven swordsman slayed ten goblins, and a one single swordsman of Laketown slayed equally or less than five goblin soldiers in minutes... and the ground was soon covered by the mutilated bodies of the dead goblins and stained black with goblin-blood.

Followed by his goat-mounted generals, personal bodyguards and several dozens of goat-mounted dwarven soldiers, Dain charged even deeper into the goblin lines, with his war-hog knocking the goblins out of its way and his master swinging his axe towards the goblins.

"IDMI D' DUM!/ _WELCOME TO THE HALL!_ " Dain shouted to the goblins he either passed with his war-hog or killed with his red axe.

Meanwhile, aside in the battlefield with Bard and the rest of the Lake-Town army...

"Uh, Gandalf? Is this a good place to make a stand?" Bilbo asked a bit nervously.

Gandalf was unable to answer to this because, even though he was relieved of that the men, elves and dwarves have finally joined their forces together against the common enemy, he was still worried that how or when the tides would turn against them.

 **...**

Meanwhile, in the Bolg's command post.

Bolg was enraged of witnessing the first wave of his goblin troops and wargs being cut to pieces by the elves and dwarves allied forces, whom were quickly gaining the upper hand over his own armies.

And determined to regain the initiative, Bolg turned to his generals.

"Let's see how those foolish beard-faces and pointy-ears can handle with this." Bolg said with the sadistic tone.

"Send in our heavy infantries... along with the War Beasts!" Bolg ordered.

 **...**

From the battlefield, Gandalf had managed to locate the goblins command post from the top of the ruined tower of the fortress standing on the tops of the Ravenhill by listening the another sound of the goblin horn.

And once looking at there, Gandalf saw that Bolg's goblin generals spread their largest war-banner's both left-side wings into wide and the lower right wing of the banner into the hook, while they had pulled their secondly largest war-banner's right wing upwards.

And after with that, Gandalf turned to from the holes incoming waves of the goblins.

Instead of the light infantry, from each of the tunnels started to pour out the fully and heavily armored and with a cruel military discipline in the black legions marching Moria/Guldur goblins, armed with the swords, shields and halberds...

...and among of which he spotted a dozens of gigantic 25-30 ft and 10-12 ft sized ogres (along with one-two amputated giant war-ogres) and giant goblins pouring out of the tunnels and advancing upon the allied armies and began wreaking havoc with their large spiked wooden clubs and metallic spiced maces in the left flank of the armies of dwarves and elves, sending over fifteen elves and dwarves to fly into the air from the fatal strike of their clubs and maces.

Upon the arrival of a new units of goblins along with their war beasts, Thranduil rallied his hundreds elven archers who fire a thousands of arrows at the heavy goblin legions and their war-ogres, which upon landing in the front-legions of the Moria/Guldur armies killed at least four gigantic ogres, causing them to either fall onto their stomachs or backs onto the groups of heavily armored goblins and crushing them beneath of their weight, and the volley nearly wiped out entirely two front battalions of heavily armored Moria/Guldur goblins in the process, before they were able to engage the fighting elven and dwarves forces.

And as the elven archers fired another massive volley of the thousands of arrows, all the dwarves nine heavy ballistas, which the dwarves had quickly moved to the feet of the steep hill, fired their own giant javelins with the spinning tails after the elves' volley and towards the next approaching wave of fresh goblin battalions and ogres.

As the elves' volley wiped out third heavy battalion of the goblins and several more gigantic ogres, the dwarves giant spinning tailed javelins crashed into the fourth fresh battalion of goblins, with their spinning tails ended up to violently slicing dozens and dozens of goblins apart and tossing many of them with the deadly power all around from their point of impact... which caused the third legion of goblins to scatter and fall into the disorder.

Elves massive volleys and the dwarves spinning tailed javelin attack allowed Dáin's war-chariots the opportunity to charge into the heavy goblin lines and slaughter dozens of goblins with the war-chariot's metal wheels spinning blades and the arrow launchers... along with the chariot pulling goats ramming with their horns the goblins out of their way.

However, this wasn't left unnoticed by Bolg, who had grown even furious that his armies attack waves had been destroyed one by one by the elf-archers volleys and the dwarves war-machinery.

Bolg then turned to his generals again.

"DESTROY THE ARCHERS AND THE DWARVES ACCURSED WAR-MACHINES!" Bolg furiously ordered.

By Bolg's orders, his goblin generals then spread the largest war-banners right side's wings and the secondly largest war-banner's both wings tips upwards, signaling the order to their war beasts.

The regular-sized ogres and the giant goblins, after receiving the command, charged towards the dwarves war-chariot from each sides through of the lines of the heavy goblin infantry.

Two ogres were about to reach one of the war-chariots that was charging through of the goblin-lines. And when they did, the ogres together knocked the war-chariot over and onto the small group of the heavily armed goblin soldiers, and the crew of the chariot was as well knocked off from the chariot to the ground.

...and during of its brief flight, the chariot collided with another war-chariot and dragged them upside down to the ground as well.

Elsewhere, Another ogre emerged out from the goblin ranks and stretched its arms towards the full speed going war-chariot in attempt to stop it, but the ogre itself was knocked over to the ground by the chariot's speed. And due to the creature's firm grip in the war-chariot, the chariot dragged the ogre with it along the ground... during of which the ogre moved its left leg dangerously close of the chariot's metal wheel's spinning blade, which cut off his leg off from the rest of his foot.

The war-chariot, with the ogre hanging on it, kept going until another ogre, with an abnormally small left arm, charged towards it and managed to halt the chariot, though the monster itself was knocked a few steps backwards.

And once the chariot was halted, four other ogres joined to to two first ogres and surrounded the chariot.

As the cripple ogre attempted to climb back up by using the chariot as a support, he was immediately killed with the head-shot by the chariot's bolt launcher wielding dwarf crew member, before he dwarf was pulled off from the chariot and killed by the ogre with the abnormally small left arm.

The four other ogres launched the brutal attack upon the chariot and the remaining dwarf crew onboard of it.

One of the ogres started to break the chariot by kicking and smashing it with its club, while another one ogre grabbed the dwarf crew member and dragged him off from the chariot, lifted him into the air and brutally tossed him against the ground, killing him.

One of them swung its spiked wooden club towards the chariot's driver, knocking him off from the driver's spot, before the ogre finished the driver off by swinging its club up and brutally landing it down onto the fallen dwarf.

The remaining dwarf crew member climbed off from the chariot and attempted to flee, but was instantly stopped by sixth ogre, who swung his spiked club towards him, striking the dwarf with its club's deadly spikes and mass and sending him to fly against the another ogre's spiked mace, which the ogre still kept onto the dead driver of the chariot...

...and as the ogre moved away, both the dead dwarves were dragged along with its mace, as their bodies were pierced by the club's spikes and they had remained to hang on from them.

And meanwhile, after knocking down two dwarves' war-chariots with one push, about six ogres turned their attentions to eight dwarf crew members of the chariots, whom were lying on the ground at their mercy.

The ogress mercilessly slaughtered the dwarves one by one either crushing or striking them with their spiked wooden clubs or crushing them against the ground by stomping on them with their feet, leaving no survivors.

Elsewhere, the fourth dwarves war-chariot, which deadly broke through of the heavy goblin infantries, leaving behind the line of mutilated bodies of goblins, was about to embrace the same fate of former three war-chariots...

...in the hands of five towards them approaching gigantic troll-like goblins, whom despite their sickly obese appearance, and obese belly, and thick and short goblin-legs - just like with the Great Goblin of the Goblin-Town - they moved towards them a pretty fast.

The bolt launcher-wielding immediately turned his weapon at from the right towards them charging giant goblins and immediately opened the fire at them even though they were apparently doomed just like the three another chariots crews...

...managing to kill at first one of them with two directly at the monstrous goblin fired bolts, one of which pierced the monster's eye-hole, sinking into its brains, and another pierced the goblin's throat, after which he killed the second one of them with three-four bolts sinking into the goblin's obese stomach...

...and just like the gigantic ogres that got hit from the elves volley, these giant goblin fell either dead or dying onto their back and stomach over the handful of fully armored goblin soldiers after getting hit from the bolts.

The dwarf was then about to turn the launcher at third giant goblin that was attacking them from the left and was about to open fire...

...until the chariot's left metal wheel run over from the elves volley dead ogre's head, crushing it beneath of the weight of the chariot and the metal wheel, but which also caused the chariot's left wheel to bounce up from the ground, which happened at the very moment when couple of giant goblins were about to attack the chariot from each side.

However, as the giant goblin from the left side lifted up his spiked wooden club in order to crush the driver of the chariot, the spinning blades of the left side metal wheel, that had reached to the level of the giant goblin's belly due to the bounce from the head of the dead ogre, unexpectedly, smoothly and bloodily gutted the giant goblin, causing the monster to let out a loud roar out of pain as the spinning blades brutally slashed its stomach open, draining the gutts out, before the chariot's left side landed back onto the ground and kept moving forward, leaving mortally wounded monster behind, after which the dying giant goblin eventually fell onto the ground, holding with its arms from the gutts coming out from the vicious and heavily bleeding wound in its obese stomach.

The dying goblin's bellow caught the attention of the another goblin, who instantly halted its attack when it turned its attention towards its gutted and on the ground dying fellow giant goblin, but it also let down its guard as it remained to stand on the way of the chariot's right side's metal wheel's spinning blades...

...which brutally cut off the goblin's legs as the chariot passed the goblin, leaving the crippled giant goblin behind as it, roaring out of pain, fell onto its stomach oveer the bloody trail of mutilated goblin bodies, though the giant goblin still attempted to grab from the chariot with its hands as it kept going out of its reach... and even kept pursuing it by crawling against the ground.

And when the bounce happened, the bolt launcher-wielding dwarf crewmen managed to fire only one-three bolt towards from their left side attacking giant goblin before the bounce knocked him off from the next of the bolt launcher.

And albeit not fatally, the two of the bolts managed to injure the giant goblin's left leg, one of them badly scratching the right side of the giant goblin's leg while another pierced through of its leg from beneath of its knee and caused the giant goblin in "its" full speed to fell forward, roaring in pain, and landed onto its stomach to the ground.

The goblin managed only lift its head up from the ground, angrily and out of pain snarling at incoming chariot's crew, before its faces met with the chariot's left metal wheel's with the goblin blood and the shreds of flesh covered spinning blade... that split the goblin's head in half, killing the monster.

The fifth dwarves' war-chariot was meanwhile chased by the flock of the dire-birds and on their backs riding goblin archers, whom fired the black arrows at the dwarves onboard of the chariot while their monstrous bird-like beasts rushed and bounced along the trail of the goblins dead and by the chariot's metal wheels spinning blades mutilated bodies the war-chariot left behind.

And because the dire-birds were beyond of the reach of their chariot's bolt launcher, the dwarf crew had instead turned around and tried to keep the bird-monsters away by using their crossbows to kill as many dire-birds and on their backs riding goblin archers as possible...

...even though there was too many at them hungrily screaming dire-birds for two dwaves armed with the crossbows to handle, and yet they were partially pinned down by the goblin archers fired arrows.

They managed to kill only two dire-birds and two goblin archers from their backs before the bird-like monsters gained on them, which forced the crew to grab to their swords and fend them off.

One of the dwarves managed to slice off one of the dire-birds head while another dwarf badly wounded with his sword another bird-like beast's leg, causing the beast to fall its head ahead onto the wheel's spinning blades, which cut off/sliced its head into pieces, while the another wheel's spinning blades sliced the legs in pieces from other direbird.

The dire-birds also advanced them from ahead, prompting the dwarf wielding the bolt launcher to open the heavy fire upon the dire-birds and their goblin archers, killing from the incoming flock about nine dire-birds and seven goblin archers.

However, there was too much even for the bolt launcher to handle...

...as their fire was returned with fire, by the goblin archers in the backs of the dire-birds whom fired the arrows at the dwarves onboard the chariot...

...managing to kill their driver with one directly shot arrow through of his throat, knocking his body at the same time off from the chariot in front of the chariot following flock of the dire-birds, whom immediately surrounded the dead dwarf and began to tear him apart limb by limb with their beaks in hope of the fresh dwarf-flesh and -blood.

The goblins own arrows forced the dwarves to take cover, which allowed the dire-birds to reach the goats pulling the war-chariot, snapping their beaks deadly around of the goats heads, throats or legs and pulled them one by one from the front of the war chariots, thus tiring out the remaining goats and slowing down the chariot's speed...

...that allowed the dire-birds to surround and hungrily finish off the remaining goats and the dwarves of the chariot.

And as for the elven archers and the dwarves' ballistas, whom had managed to demolishor two other heavy goblin legions once the war-chariots were nearly destroyed and the remaining ones retreated...

...from the holes on the ground appeared sevenof huge, monstrous and white-gray furred 30 - 50 ft tall mountain apes, carrying the wooden catapult mechanisms on their backs and the small group of goblins operating each one.

The giant apes, aggressively growling and snorting, moved away from the holes towards the battlefield in front of the gates of Erebor, and they positioned themselves in the open line and in between of the heavy goblin infantry, whose legions poured/marched in the long lines out of the holes in the ground and to the battlefield.

And once the giant apes were on their position, the goblin crew on the backs of the mountain apes then quickly prepared the catapults to fire by pulling their long throwing wooden arms down, tensing their mechanisms so that the ammunition will gain the long reach for their targets and loading their leather sacks - or even from the chain armors made sacks in case of with the oil covered and into fire ignited boulders - in the ends of the throwing arms with the huge boulders...

...before their commander, an ogre, swung its wooden club with the iron spiked and smashed it against the ground...

...signaling the goblins to pull from the triggers of the catapults...

...which then launched their boulders into the air, after which the goblin crews started to prepare the catapults quickly ready for the another round...

...as into the air launched and during of their flight rolling heavy boulders flied over the battlefield and the battling armies or elves, men, dwarves, and the massive forces of Moria/Guldur, heading straight towards the positions of the elven archers and the dwarves heavy ballistas... knocking in the process from the fifth elven archers fired volley several hundreds of elves' arrows off the flight and breaking some spinning tailed javelins in the mid air.

In the ranks of the elven archers, the large and rolling boulders launched upon of them weren't as destructive as the dwarves spinning tailed javelins, but upon of landing in the elven ranks, the boulders crushed many elves beneath of their deadly weights and caused the lines near of the landing sposts to scatter. And the elves faced even greater casualties from the boulders when they, once landing in middle of the elven archers, even rolled among of the elven ranks, breaking the lines and crushing the elven archers beneath of their weight... this attack upon of them halted the elven archers fire.

From the boulders, three or two of them, landed among of the dwarves heavy ballistas, destroying at least couple of them and killing handful of the dwarves balliusta crew with couple direct hit.

However, the elven archers and dwarven ballista crew faced the another threat - right from below of them... as the goblin crews of the catapults prepared for the another round.

From the ground, quickly and unexpectedly, emerged out of the smaller but even fiercer and snake-like version of the were-worms, with their lizard-like four-fingered and -clawed limbs.

And once after emerged out of the ground, they immediately attacked the dwarves ballista crew and the elven archers, provoking them to grab to their swords and axes and face the nasty snake-like were-worms, and even though both elves and dwarves were able to slice the heads off from some dozen of were-worms, the snake-like monstrous worms had already got the elves and dwarves by surprise. And even more and more holse emerged to the ground, from which even more were-worms emerged out, running quickly on their four along the ground like the lizards and striking their fanged monstrous mouths around of either their legs or faces like the snakes biting fatally the mouses.

And because the were-worms gained their strength in the groups, they attacked in the packs every single elf or dwarf, that was separated from the rest of their kind by the were-worms surprise attack, by coiling their long snake-like bodies all around of their victims bodies, as for an example, three of were-worms had coiled around of the one elven archer and even five had coiled around of the dwarven soldier, and even though the elven and dwarven soldiers tried to shake even one of them off from themselves or even managed to kill one of the were-worms, two other fresh were-worms replaced them by coiling themselves as well around of their victims...

...and attempting then to capture both the elves and dwarves with the helmet-covered heads, or with the face-guards covered faces, or their necks in between of their fangs-filled jaws and the skull-crushing bite-forces, which was an easy with those elves and dwarves whom had lost their helmets, but proved a bit tricky with those ones whom had still helmets upon their heads.

 **...**

Back in the Ravenhill comman post, Bolg grinned viciously and satisfied as he witnessed the destruction of the dwarven war-machines and the elven archers, leaving the allies forces of the men, elves and dwarves without the archers and machinery against his own forces and thus allowing his own forces to continue advance... without suffering the larger casualties than what in the beginning of the battle.

And as Bolg witnessed how his from the worm-holes emerged heavy Moria/Guldur goblin-infantries, along with the massive packs of wargs, massive swarming hordes of the Misty Mountains goblins and the Goblin-Town goblins, the giant ogres and other war-beasts, surrounded most of the allied forces of men, elves and dwarves in the Valley and forcing the rest of their armies to protect their flanks from the approaching legions of goblins and giant ogres while the main armies were caught in bloody conflict in middle of the Valley.

"Those fools cannot fight on two fronts..." Bolg said, snarling sadistically as his attention turned from the battlefield to the ruined city of Dale, full of defenseless, wounded and sick men, women and children, to where the fighting on the Valley hadn't yet reached...

...until now.

Bolg turned his attention to the four holes, which the were-worms had created to the East Ridge, and quite next to the city of Dale... and from those holes was pouring out dozens of fresh and battle-ready battalions of the heavy goblin infantry and a new war-ogres.

Upon seeing the opportunity to make another to the allied enemy forces unexpected move, Bolg turned to his generals and pointed with his finger at those holes.

"Give the heavy infantries of those four holes the order to halt their advance and separate them from the rest of the army. We have use for them elsewhere, because now we'll make our move!" Bolg declared and turned to the battlefield, as his generals rushed to their positions under of their war-banners and behind of their horn.

Bolg waited for a moment, until there was enough of battle-ready battalions of the heavy goblin infantry poured out from the worm-holes in next to the city.

Until Bolg then seized the opportunity.

"ATTACK TO THE CITY!" Bolg roared as he ordered a full-scale attack on the city of Dale as a flanking move in order cut off the men, elves and dwarves escape and force them to separate their forces and fight on two fronts.

And once this order was given, the goblin trumpeter behind of the goblin horn blowed the sound into the air upon the Valley, halting from the four warm-holes into the battlefield pouring and advancing goblin legions.

And the goblin trumpeter blowed another coarse sound and the goblin generals lifted from the ropes the largest war-banners wings even higher than what they did in the first one when they launched their attack upon the Valley.

And upon seeing this, and recognizing the order, all the heavy goblin infantries that poured our from the four worm-holes instantly turned their course away from thebattle in the Valley and to the city of Dale, after which the goblin legions began to march in the four lines of the disciplined battalions towards the walls of the ruined city.

And along of them joined dozens of the goblin-banners carrying or as shock-troops serving smaller ogres and giant goblins, several gigantic war-ogres and another group of the gigantic white-furred mountain apes carrying the catapult mechanisms on their backs as the legions advanced the city...

...where the defenders, upon realizing that the enemy armies had changed their course from the Valley to the walls of the city, immediately occupied with the lake-town archers and swordsmen that part of the wall towards of what the goblin-legions were advancing.

Most of Bard's army, which stayed still out of the main battle, saw the great threat that had been launched upon of the city of Dale, much to the horror of most of lake-men in Bard's army, because the city was at the moment half-defenseless and their families were in there... in the great danger.

However, only Gandalf realized the motivation of the full-scale attack against the city of Dale.

"Bolg... he's trying to cut off our only escape and get us separated!" The wizard said in horror.

Seeing the goblin battalions and the war-beasts advancing the city at the very moment, without the hesitation, Bard turned to his army.

"ALL OF YOU! FALL BACK TO DALE! NOW!" Bard ordered, because he needed his army most back in the city to defend his people from the approaching enemy, instead in the open battle on the plains of the Valley...

...and after giving his orders to his army, Bard encouraged his horse to rush towards the northern entrance of the city of Dale, hoping to get there in time to warn his people (including his children) and get them out of the way of the approaching enemy before they reach to inside of the wall.

And his army instantly followed their king towards the city, leaving the elves and dwarves to engage Bolg's forces on the plain.

And as the lake-men began to retreat back to the city to regroup with the rest of the Lake-Town forces to defend it from the goblins, Bilbo turned for a moment towards the sealed gates of Erebor...

...seeing no sign of Thorin on the wall, except all twelve armored dwarves of the company, seeing all of their faces filled with the shock and sadness, due to dragon-sickness possessed Thorin forbidding them from joining the battle and turning his back remorselessly to his own kin in the battlefield, as they witnessed the battle raging outside of the Mountain.

Some of them, for example Bofur, Balin, Fili and Kili and even Dwalin, peered to his direction from the sealed gate, and from the concerned looks in their faces, Bilbo saw that they were agree with him about the words he had firmly said to Thorin back in the gate...

 _You are changed, Thorin. The Dwarf I met in Bag End would never have gone back on his word! Would never have doubted the loyalty of his kin!_

...when he revealed himself as one who handed the Arkenstone to Bard and Thranduil in order to bring the peace between of men, elves and dwarves without fighting... with the risk of his own life.

"Aren't you going to fight, Thorin? Not even alongside of your own kin? Not even with your own cousin?" Bilbo silently asked with the concerned tone.

However, he was snapped out of his thoughts by Gandalf.

"BILBO! TO THE CITY! HURRY!" Gandalf shouted as he waited for Bilbo, not going to leave the hobbit in middle of the bloody fight that was raging around of them.

Bilo paid one last look at his dwarf-friends at the gate, before he eventually turned around and rushed with Bilbo after the army of Lake-Town towards the city.

Meanwhile, as the heavy goblin infantries were marching past of the hilltop, crossing the frozen river and marching up the steep hill, on the top of which was the northern part of the wall of the city of Dale, through of which the Moria/Guldu/Goblin-Town armies intended to get into the city, along with two ogres, into the backs of which was tied up the wide siege ladders for capturing the wall...

...the group of seven-eight mountain apes with the catapults and the goblin crews, under command of another ogre, positioned into the line on the top of the hilltop, during of which the goblins pulled the catapults throwing arms down, tensing up the catapults mechanisms for the volley, and loaded the fabric sacks in the ends of the throwing arms with the huge boulders.

And as the ogre commander swung its wooden club with the iron-spikes against the ground, the goblins pulled the triggers of the catapults and launched volleys of rocks against the north wall, destroying one defensive towers and and inflicted heavy damage on the wall, killing even more than half of all lake-men archers and swordsmen that had occupied the certain wall to defend it from the attacking goblins.

However, despite suffering the heavy casualties from the volley of rocks, the remaining Lake-men archers kept firing the arrows at the front lines of the advancing legions of Moria/Guldur goblin swordsmen and the goblin halberdiers and Goblin-town's goblins, whom despite suffering large casualties in the front lines kept advancing the wall... and the swordsmen prepared for the close combat when with the with the siege ladders equipped ogres kept advancing towards the wall.

However, as Bard, his army, Bilbo and Gandalf made it from the battlefield to the bridge leading to the north entrance into the city...

Bard noticed that through of the goblin infantries, that were approaching the damaged wall which the mountain apes and the goblins have been badly bombared with the volley of boulders launched with the catapults on their backs, was charging towards the wall the bulky and muscular ogre, that was equipped with a stone headpiece upon its head and served no doubt as an living battering ram... intenting to break the way through of the wall and allow the goblins to flood into Dale.

Gasping in horror, and with no time to lose, Bard encouraged his horse to run faster.

However, he was too late.

As the ogre-ram was about to pass with the lake-men archers arrows heavily thinned front lines of the goblins, the lake-men archers immediately turned their arrows at the threateningly towards the wall approaching ogre-ram in order to kill it before it reaches to the wall, though its skin proved to be too thick as the trolls skin for the arrows to pierce it.

Caring nothing about the arrows, and getting close enough of the wall, the roaring ogre-ram bounced with its a stone headpiece equipped head ahead towards the wall with all its strength.

For decades old walls of Dale, which were consumed by the dragon-fire when Smaug came in the first place, had no match for the ogre-ram's strength.

And even though the ogre-ram, after it had bashed its with a stone headpiece equipped head against the wall, tottered backwards while letting out the throaty moan before it eventually fell on its back to the ground, presumably from getting its skull crushed from the impact against the wall...

...A portion of the wall, that was bashed backwards by the ogre-ram, was breached and eventually collapsed, creating an opening for the orcs to enter.

And with that, the hundreds and hundreds of Moria/Guldur goblins, along with the Goblin-Town goblins and the dozens of ogres, broke from the disciplined rows and poured through of the hole into the city, occupying quickly with their numbers the city's north-side's streets and buildings looking for and slaughtering killing dozens of the unexpected Laketown villagers inside of the city.

And within the seconds, the air space of city of Dale was full of the goblins sadistical laugh from their pleasure to kill the defenseless refugees of Laketown, leaving behind the carpets of cruelly slaughtered corpses of villagers to the streets... as well as the screaming and shouting of horror of the villagers. who have perceived the danger, and the cries of pain from those people, whom were unfortunately crossed paths with into the city pouring goblins and were slaughtered immediately.

* * *

 **Small trivia.**

In my story, the ogres, giant goblins and gigantic mountain-apes replaces the trolls used in the BotFA film completely.

There was not the great flock of the bats to block the daylight from reaching to the ground of the Valley, so I added it to my story.

There's no such of beasts, the dire-birds, four-legged snake-like were-worms, mountain apes and giant troll-like goblins (inspirations fo the Great Goblin) in the BotFA film, but there's the concept arts of all of them.

I gave for the goblins of Goblin-Town a bit bigger role in the beginning of the battle.

Quote *Fools! They do understand nothing about the war above ground, whatever they know the battle in underground* is from the book, but the Bard was the one who said that in the book, not Thranduil. I felt it to be right if Thranduil is the one who says that... due to his much stronger dislike towards the dwarves and overgrown pride and desire for those white gems.

Some questions that why those dwarven ballistas were never used against the orcs and trolls in the film... so I made some extra scene for them.


	12. Chapter 12: The Darkest Hour

CHAPTER 12. THE DARKEST HOUR

As even more goblins and ogres emerged out from the worm-holes and stormed into the city of Dale in the vast legions, filling quickly most of the city's northern side's streets and small squares with their vast numbers, slaughtering all humans on their way...

...while on the battlefield outside of the wall, some large goblin legions started to spread all around of the city to look for another weak spots in the wall, from which they could breach through into the City and some of the goblins, along with the wargs and warg-riders, taking over the city's northern causeway and overrunning the northern gate...

...while the catapults on the giant mountain apes backs and handled by the goblin crews kept firing the large boulders over the walls into the city, destroying many buildings and killing both lakemen villagers and soldiers as well as their own...

...and after sending his children to gather all survived women, children, elders, wounded and sick ones and take them to the safety to the Great Hall in the citadel, while he's holding off the goblins to buy for them as much time as they can...

...Bard gathered many handful of Laketown soldiers and armed militia together and launched a fresh attack against the Moria/Guldur goblins and ogres, whose were pouring as a endless wave over the wall, thanks to the ogres onto backs of which had been attached the wide siege ladders, and attacking the to the lakemen.

And within the seconds, the fight between lakemen and the Moria/Guldur goblins had became a vicious and bloody street brawl, locked into tight corners of one-on-one fights and the streets were filled within the seconds of the slayed or mutilated bodies of men and goblins.

Bowmen fired the arrows upon the goblin legions approaching the wall, killing dozens of them in the process.

With the long swords and shields armed lakemen put into the fight all strength they got to protect their bowmen and prevent the walls being overrun by through of the siege ladders to the walls climbing goblins.

Laketown guards and armed militia kept back the waves of goblins with the spears, swords and other melee weapons, with Bard with the long sword fighting at their head, and his second-in-command Percy and the dozens of laketown bowmen led by him giving the support for him and the Laketown soldiers from behind the lines by firing the arrows at the goblins with their long bows, killing many goblins in the process.

Both Gandalf and even Bilbo had joined to the bloody brawl alongside the lakemen, with their elven-swords Glamdring and Sting, which blades shined fiercely the blue light at the presence of the goblins.

Gandalf struck down several goblins with his staff and used Glamdring to behead and cutting dozens of goblins down, while Bilbo, using his hobbit-size as his advantage against the bigger goblins, slashes at the legs of a few goblins with his Sting.

However, the Moria/Guldur goblins heavy armors proved to be the superior against the lakemen's own protection, and that and each fallen goblin soldier was quickly replaced by five new ones, whom proceed by ruthlessly knocking with their shields to the lakemen faces and whacking them with their swords and halberds... The Laketown militia did their best to prevent the goblins from advancing further into the city, but the mass of the heavily armored goblin soldiers and their vast numbers kept pushing them back with the raw force.

However, the goblins elite-soldiers, whom wore a little protection, only the armor shirts and from the thick fur or leather made tunics, with except for the helmets, and were armed with the two one-handed, long and straight-bladed goblin-scimitars, proved to be more tricky even for ten Laketown soldiers, as the goblins swung their long blades with a deadly pace from the side ot another, beheading and slashing the dozens of lakemen to death within seconds... forcing the lakemen to fend them off with the spears and bows rather than with the swords and close combats.

The ogres - and the giant troll-like goblins - among of the Moria/Guldur goblins, as the ogres and gigantic goblins in some places of the city's streets were the only ones whom the goblins willingly allowed to lead the way, crushed dozens and dozens of armed lake-men militia to death and out of their way with ease with their wooden clubs with the spikes. Even though some lakemen militia boldly held their ground even against the larger and physically superior ogres and giant goblins with the bows and spears, many of them abandoned their posts and retreated out of the way of the bigger ones, though many of the fleeing lakemen were killed either by the goblins or giant ogres.

Some of the streets were filled with the wargs, that mercilessly hunted down either fighting or fleeing lakemen, brutally mauling many of them to death with their claws and fanged jaws and feasting with their flesh.

And the armored goblins of the Goblin Town swarmed everywhere, climbing onto the buildings for ambush and either jumped off from the roof tops onto the backs of against the Moria/Guldur goblins struggling and unsuspecting laketown soldiers with the daggers, stabbing many of them to death, or either fired the arrows or threw the javelins down at them. The goblins of Goblin Town also threw the javelins over of their own at the men of Laketown and sneaking quickly and unseen between of the legs or the men and goblins, slashing the bad wounds to the Laketown soldiers legs or cutting one of the legs off.

 **...**

Meanwhile, while Laketown militia was holding off the enemy, Bain, Sigrid, Tilda were both searching, helping and leading all survived Laketown villagers, women, children, elders, wounded and sick ones make their way through the deserted buildings of the city until they arrive at the citadel.

"Hurry! Make it to the Great Hall! Hurry!" Bain yelled to the villagers, as he helped one elder villager to make it to the citadel... while Sigrid and Tilda were helping wounded Laketown's man, who had lost his arm, either from the Dragon's attack or from the goblin-blade.

Even some refugees were helping each others to make it to the citadel.

However, there was only one person, who didn't help anyone.

Alfrid Lickspittle.

When Bard had tried to convince his children to gather the villagers to the citadel to safety, and when the children had refused to leave from their father, Alfrid had sided with Bard, volunteering to escort the elderly, the wounded and the women and the children to safety to avoid getting involved to the fighting like coward he is, until Bard had rejected his offer and ordered him - as well as every man able to fight - to have a some weapon and stand against the enemy by giving him the sword.

However, Alfrid had thrown away the sword and cowardly followed the elderly, the wounded and the women and the children to the citadel.

"GET OUT OF MY WAY! ABANDON THE CRIPPLES!" Alfrid cried as he hastily rushed through of the villagers at the citadel, rudely and selfishly pushing the villagers, the elderly, the wounded and the women and the children our of his way to get faster into the safety.

 **...**

Elsewhere...

The enemy had found another weaker spot from the wall of Dale in the northern gate's west-side and sent the gigantic ogres to tear down the wall to make an another breach into it.

Despite the archers efforts to fend off the giant monsters, the gigantic ogres successfully poured through of the wall, creating a new wide breach into it before they proceed by advancing deep into the city...

...and they were soon followed by the legions of Moria/Guldur goblins and the swarms of the goblins of the Goblin Town, who broke through of the wall and spread deeper into the city's western side's streets. And because the breach, as well as the wall itself, was on the top of the small rocky hillock, the goblins were allowed to proceed to the breach by the ogres, into the backs of which had been attached the wooden bridges instead of siege ladders, who settled on their knees to the ground that the ends of the bridges they were carrying were attached to the breach in the wall and against the ground.

And as even more goblin legions and the several of ogres carrying the goblins war-banners advanced from the four worm-holes into the city...

...Thranduil, who had realized that Bard was in trouble and heavily outnumbered, had gathered a large company of the elven swordsmen and elven archers and led them towards city of Dale to aid its defense... and Thranduil himself was leading a charge towards the city's northern gates, which were at the moment overrun by the Moria/Guldur Goblins.

Thranduil rode ahead of his forces on his giant stag, who trampled down and slayed dozens of Moria/Guldur Goblins that have occupied the bridge leading to the gate. The stag knocked with his massive antlers all the goblins off the bridge and even caught several goblins in his antlers, to which the king of the wood elves dispatches them quickly by beheading all of them with his sword.

However, just as Thranduil rode through the open gates of the city, the Goblin Town's goblin archers waiting in ambush shot down his stag, forcing the Elven king to leap down from his fallen mount and find himself surrounded by dozens and dozens of Moria/Guldur Goblins.

Wielding his two curved Elven swords and using his for centuries trained swordplay skills and the elves smooth physical speed, Thranduil furiously attacked the goblins by giving to them the quick yet extremely lethal slashes with the tips of his swords, slaying a large number of the goblins before the rest of his warriors joined him in the fray to protect their king.

The wood elves spread all around of the city's streets that were occupied by the Moria/Guldur Goblins, fighting furiously and fiercely against the goblins and wiping out the most of them, covering the streets with the hundreds of slayed goblin-bodies and -blood.

However, the elves were still were still heavily outnumbered and the fighting in the narrow space on the city's streets was mostly against them and as the advantage for the goblins, whom slaughtered the elves one by one with the surprise attacks from behind of the back of with numbers.

 **...**

Meanwhile, Bolg kept witnessing from his command post the lakemen and the woodland elves desperate struggle against his overwhelming forces within the city's streets and squares, while the giant mountain apes and the goblin crews of the catapults on the apes backs had started to bombard the city with the oil covered and into the flames ignited boulders, that caused the several fires to be unleashed into the city.

"DOUBLE OUR ATTACK WAVES! THEY CANNOT HOLD THE CITY!" Bolg ordered his generals, knowing that doubled attack waves of goblins and ogres will overrun the whole city of Dale in no time.

As his generals rushed to fulfill his orders, Bolg turned from the city to the Valley, where the visibly thinned dwarf army kept desperately fighting against his widely spread legions, and were forced to retreat towards the gates of the Mountain.

"Aah, perfect! The dwarves are in the trouble... and they're almost spent." Bolg declared...

...and, as he said, both the remaining elves of the woodland and the dwarves of the Iron Hills, whom were still making their stand against their common enemy on the Valley and in front of the gates of Mountain, were in the big trouble indeed.

 **...**

Upon the arrival of the heavy infantries of the goblins and the gigantic ogres, along with a new fresh swarming herds of the Goblins of the Goblin Town, the situation was quickly turning from bad to worse for Dáin's and Thranduil's remaining united forces.

As the battle raged on for several hours, the allied forces of the elves, dwarves and men became increasingly demoralized and exhausted as even more and more the goblin reinforcements continued to pour out of the tunnels onto the battlefield plain and into Dale simultaneously.

And it was then when Dáin along with the Dwarvish and remaining elvish forces found themselves caught in a deadly battle of attrition, as the numerical advantage of the goblins and them supporting brutal force of the ogres was slowly but certainly proving more decisive than the superior soldiery skills of the allied forces.

Slowly and certainly, Bolg's forces begin to overpower Dáin's own troops and the remaining elves who had joined them at the beginning of the battle.

And without the elves superior long-bows and their deadly volleys and without the dwarves heavy ballistas and their spinning tailed javelins, the enemy was free to reach to the touch with the allied forces of elves and dwarves.

And, as a new, fresh and massive chaotic waves of the heavily armored and armed Moria/Guldur Goblins swordsmen, halberdiers and maulers charged with an unstoppable pace and smashed against the reformed lines of dwarves and the elves, the dwarves' and elves' lines were instantly broken in the contact, quickly send into the wide mayhem and brutally devastated, as a new wave of goblins caused with the raw force the gaps into the elves and the dwarves lines by pouring through from the exhaustion weaker spots of their lines, pushing dozens and dozens of the elves and dwarves backwards or out of their way over to the ground. And once the elves and dwarves were either widely scattered or pushed over to the ground, they were easily slaughtered by the Moria/Guldur goblins and the goblins of the Goblin Town.

But the gigantic ogres and ten-twelve ft sized ogres created much wider havoc by swinging their wooden spiked clubs or metallic spiked maces upon the elves' and dwarves' ranks, killing and sending to fly across the air roughly over two dozen of elves and dwarves with one swing, brutally demolishing the stronger lines of the elves and dwarves - along with the gigantic, pale-skinned and amputated war-ogres with their deadly spiked flails - and the havoc their caused allowed the Goblin-Town and Moria/Guldur goblins to advance even deeper into the elven/dwarf lines.

Goblins and ogres breaking the lines of the elves and dwarves allowed also a huge packs of mounted and dismounted wargs to charge onto the scattered lines of the elves and dwarves and either knock dozens of them brutally over to the ground or then the hungry wolf-like monsters attacked in the groups of four wargs onto one elf or dwarf soldier, mauling them to death with their fanged jaws and claws.

The exhausted elves and dwarves had no match for the charging man-sized goblin berserkers, whom charged towards the dwarves and elves spearmen and swordsmen. Swinging their massive war-hammers and spiked maces in the lateral arches upon the dwarven lines, each goblin berserker armed with the war-hammer or spiked mace slayed with every swing of their hammers five-six dwarves with ease and kept going devastating their lines before their met their end from the dwarves' spears... while elves faced the same goblin berserkers armed with the two-handed, long and wide swords, with which the goblins surprisingly and with the brute force knocked the elves down or chopped the elves in half or beheading them with an easy.

Inside of the elves and dwarves lines, some of the dwarf and elf infantry soldiers were attacked from beneath of their feet by the smaller were-worms, whom either quickly bit into the elves legs or coiled themselves into the squeezing grips around of the dwarf soldiers...

...in the close combat between of the Goblin Town's and Moria/Guldur goblins and elves and dwarves combined armies, the obese and muscular giant goblins smashed down with their staff-like spiked wooden clubs the elves and dwarves' lines, leaving their clubs covered with blood and even some elf and dwarf soldiers were impaled by the spiked and were hanging in them like some kind of rag dolls...

...behind of the enemy lines, the goblins javelin-men kept throwing the javelins upon the elves and dwarves, killing some of them...

...and even further behind of the enemy legions, the mountain apes with the catapults and the goblin-crews in their backs, launched the volley of with the oil covered and into flames ignited boulders upon the fighting armies of elves, dwarves and goblins, not caring if they kill their own in the process.

Upon realizing that they were heavily outnumbered and soon to be overrun by the ferocity of the goblins, wargs and ogres, most of the surviving elvish forces were either withdrawn by Thanduil and pulled back into Dale or retreated back to Dale a bit later, leaving the Dwarves and a small number of elves to to their fate on the plain.

Dain's forces tried desperately to reform their ranks and push the enemy back, but for their best efforts too powerful waves of the goblin armies, packs of wargs and the giant ogres rapidly pushed the dwarves back instead, crushing and slaughtering dozens/hundreds of the Dwarves in the process.

And during of chaos, three Moria/Guldur Goblins killed Dáin's armored hog with their curved and serrated-bladed pikes.

Shrieking in pain, Dáin's war hog jumped on its hind legs, tossing Dain off its back, before it fell on its right side to the ground, mortally wounded from the goblin pikes.

"YOU BUGGERS!" The dismounted Dwarf-lord accursed the goblins for killing his mount...

...before Dáin furiously attacked the goblins, wielding his red axe and beheading or fatally striking several of them to death... and also giving the stone-hard headbutts to the goblins heads, when either accidentally when pulling his head backwards while dodging the goblins spears and swords targeted to his head or when in the close combat.

After killing several Moria/Guldur goblins, there was a pause for Dáin's fighting as the Dwarf-lord looked all around... even though his thought were not in the chaotic and bloody battle between of his forces and the goblins and giant ogres, whom were all around of him crushing and slaughtering his soldiers and surrounding from all sides all of it, what remained of his fortress, though some legions of his army tried to defend their ranks from the goblins and ogres.

Dáin was looking for someone else from the battlefield... his cousin Thorin, as he was not seen in the battlefield.

"WHERE'S THORIN?! WE NEED HIM! WHERE IS HE?!" Dáin called out to his troops.

 **...**

"LET THESE LANDS RUN WITH BLOOD!" Bolg declared, as he was not interested of taking war prisoners from elves, dwarves and men.

All what he wanted was the death and blood.

" _Slaughter them all!_ " Bolg ordered his generals.

And when the horn sounded another throaty sound upon the Valley, and when the generals signaled to their troops with their war-banners the one simple order...

... _No prisoners! No mercy!_

...the goblins on the battlefield and in the city cheered to this order and gained a new frenzy, doubling and even hardening their attacks out of their lust for blood and the mindless killing their enemies to the every last one, without taking the prisoners.

 **...**

Bard and his men remained to stand their ground and attempted to kill as many goblins as possible...

...but they soon found out that the Moria/Guldur goblins and the ogres have doubled and even hardened their waving attacks, pushing the lakemen back with the unstoppable raw forced, their vast numbers and their mass on the streets, heavily outnumbering and killing dozens of already from the fighting exhausted lakemen with their spears and swords.

And with all survived villagers safely inside the citadel and dozens of his men being slain by the rapidly advancing enemy and their fresh reinforcements...

"FALL BACK! TO THE CITADEL!" Bard ordered to his remaining forces.

And upon of his order, which Percy spread to all so far lasted lakemen all over the city of Dale, the entire lakemen militia abandoned their posts in the streets and squares and fled hurriedly towards the citadel gate and the stairs leading to the citadel, because it was the higher place on the entire city and the last place, where they could make their last stand...

...but during of the lakemen soldiers and militia's retreat to there, the waves of the goblins and ogres pursued them, slaying several more as they retreat, leaving behind the streets covered mostly with the slaughtered or mutilated bodies of the laketown militia and villagers.

The elves elsewhere continued fighting fiercely against the Moria/Guldur goblins to protect their king, but the exhausted soon or later got best of them and dozens and dozens of elves were slain with the lethal slashes or stabbing strikes before being roughly pushed over to the ground, some were forcefully dragged to the ground and mauled to death with the goblins swords and spiked maces, in the process, filling the streets with the slaughtered or mutilated bodies of the elves, as the goblins begin to overpower the elves with their numbers, pinning them down to the ground for slaughter and retaking the streets which the elves were close to retake from the goblins.

And as the battle rages, and the city's streets kept filling from the bodies of the goblins, Bilbo, Gandalf, Bard, his lakemen militia and Thranduil and his Silvan Elves kept desperately fighting and killing many of the goblins as possible as they become surrounded on all sides... while they attempted to make it to the citadel.

 **...**

Meanwhile, on the battlefield in the Valley, where Dáin and his remaining dwarves still kept fighting against the goblins and ogres...

"FALL BACK! FALL BACK! TO THE MOUNTAIN! FALL BACK!" Dáin called to his troops, upon realizing that they would soon be overrun by the vehemence and overwhelming numbers of the enemy.

The remained and all around of the battlefield scattered dwarves regrouped together around of their leader, helping their slightly wounded own ones up from the ground on their feet and killed several hundreds of goblins within their regrouped ranks and several hundred more from the front lines in order to temporarily disengage Bolg's forces.

Eventually, Dáin and nearly three thousands of surviving Dwarves managed to break through the ranks of the goblins began to retreat towards the barred main gateway of Erebor.

From his command post, Bolg witnessed that the dwarves are broken and were retreating towards the main gateway of the Mountain, while all around of the Valley scattered goblin legions were either finishing off the wounded and behind left dwarves or waiting for the orders.

"They're broken. I've got them on the run. I hope that you would be here to see the end of the soldiers of the Line of Durin, father." Bolg said quietly, indeed hoping his father, Azog the Defiler, to be here to witness the massive defeat of the Line of Durin.

And then, Bolg turned to his goblin generals.

"They've broken and trapped against the Mountain. NOW comes their certain end." Bolg said to his generals.

Bolg remained then briefly silent, considering his next move upon the dwarves, before he gave his orders.

"REFORM THE LEGIONS AND PREPARE FOR THE FINAL ASSAULT!"

The goblin generals immediately rushed to the war-banners to signal from them the order of regroup and prepare for the final assault for the troops, while the goblin general with the horn blew another throaty sound upon the Valley...

...and upon of hearing it and gaining the orders from the signal of the war-banners on the top of the ruined tower of the Ravenhill's fortress, the Moria/Guldur goblins began to regroup onto the new either separated or even wider and larger legions, preparing for the final assault...

...while the dwarves kept retreating towards the sealed gateway of the Mountain.


	13. Chapter 13: Durin's Charge

CHAPTER 13. DURIN'S CHARGE

 ** _"I have no right to ask this from any of you. Will you follow me... one last time?"_**

* * *

Meanwhile, outside of the gates of Erebor...

As the overwhelming legions of Guldur Goblins started to form at least five (and even more) large goblin-battalions, which vastly outnumbered against the gate-walls of Erebor pinned and surrounded remains of dwarf army...

...Dáin and his catastrophically whittled army of over two thousand remaining dwarves turned to face the goblin legions, regrouping and forming into a crescent-phalanx formation with the pikes and shields in front, and preparing to make their final stand against the Goblins while shouting their war cries in dwarvish.

The armies were standing still, waiting for one another making their move at first.

Elsewhere, at Bolg's command post...

"Our troops are in the position and ready to attack. Shall I give the order, master?" One of Bolg's goblin generals asked from the Pale Goblin.

However, Bolg, despite of his thirst for the prospect of victory, lifted his right hand up as a sign of halt.

"NOT YET! HALT!" Bolg sternly ordered, without taking his eyes from the events on the battlefield.

"I want the final charge against the remaining Dwarf forces to be as swift and destructive as possible." The Pale Goblin

"Halt... Halt..." Bolg ordered as he kept his eyes on the battle field.

As the heavy infantry was formed and ready for the final charge, a couple or four large grey-white furred mountain apes, bearing a catapult manned by a crews of seven Goblins, assembled themselves into the line behind of the goblin lines, facing the walls of Erebor and preparing both to crush the remaining dwarven forces and bring down the Gate Wall of Erebor with their boulders...

...and in middle of their line was standing large amputated war-ogre ready to advance to the dwarves with the goblin army.

The heavy Goblin infantry was also joined by the groups with the large numbers of feral gray- or brown-furred wargs and armored warg-riders on their backs, ready to give for the infantry forces their feral support and with the urgency to have a taste the dwarf-flesh and -blood.

...while the long line of sixteen ogres and giant goblins, armed with the iron-spiked wooden clubs, emerged through of the heavy Guldur Goblins lines in front of the whole army, with the intention to crush down with the brutal force the dwarf army's front lines so that the heavy infantry can finish off the rest.

And among of the front lines of the goblin army, that was mostly formed from the Guldur Goblin pikemen and swordsmen, was also the dozens and dozens of larger, man-shaped and muscular goblin berserkers armed with the large war-hammers, dual spiked metal maces and long wide-bladed and two-handled swords to make the breaking through of the goblin lines much difficult for the dwarves.

It was the moment when Bolg seized the perfect opportunity.

"ATTACK! NOW! NOW!"

And once the command was given, the goblin lieutenants lifted the wings of the largest banner up once again, and another goblin lieutenant blew the signaling throaty sound from the goblin-horn upon the battlefield, signaling their troops to begin their final attack.

And once the signal was given, the ogres and giant goblins started to lead the advance, with the Guldur Goblins following behind them in the firm line.

However, before the Dol Guldur army managed to reach the dwarves, another horn blast suddenly sounded from the mountain.

It was Bombur!

Bombur was standing over the gate-walls of Erebor and the obese dwarf warrior was carrying on his shoulder the dwarf-made great war horn of Erebor, blowing into which he sent upon the battlefield the loud and deep sound that reached from the gates of Erebor to the entrance of the Valley...

...and out of sudden sounding deep and mighty horn blast caused the advancing enemy forces to halt in surprise and confusion, and turn each one of their soldiers attentions over the dwarf army to the gates and walls of Erebor, thus saving the dwarves from the certain doom.

Bilbo, Gandalf, Bard, Thranduil and all into the Citadel of besieged Dale retreated Laketown militia, Laketown's villagers and elven forces also heard throughout the air space of the Valley echoing deep sound of the dwarf-made war horn from the Mountain, which drawn nearly every the ruined city's defender's attention from the battle at the gates of Erebor.

Bilbo was stunned by the newfound relief - and hope - after hearing the dwarven war horn's deep sound echoing in the air upon the battlefield, and seeing Bombur standing on the gate's wall while wielding the horn on his shoulder and eagerly blowing into it for the second time.

"Thorin?" Bilbo whispered, like he already guessed that what this could mean.

And that was what Gandalf was thinking as well, as he looked at the gates of Erebor with the hope in his eyes.

And as the sound faded away, the blocked front gate was cleared down with the one mighty strike against the wall, that blocked the doorway into the Mountain, from the dwarf-made by a massive golden bell hanging in the end of the large metal chain from the front hall behind of the gates.

And as the golden bell swung back inside of the Mountain, Thorin and his twelve companions charged out from the darkness of the Erebor and into the battlefield, having re-donned into their dwarf-armors and wielded as their weapon of choices the large axes and hammers, in the dwarf-hands forged long and two-handed swords, and round shields from the armory of Erebor.

Dáin's dwarf forces let out the loud shout and cheer at the sight of the king, who had dressed into the golden royal dwarf-lord's armor, and wielding the king's wide-bladed and one-handed sword and golden round shield as his weapons of choices, and who charged through of the dwarves' lines (who formed the passageway through of their lines for their incoming king) towards the goblin lines like behind of him was following an army of twelve thousand dwarf soldiers instead of single twelve dwarves.

The golden dwarf-king's charge ignited the fear in the Goblins, nearly forcing all goblins in the first several lines of their massive battalions to retreat out of fear and press their backs firmly against their fellow goblin soldiers behind of them, despite heavily outnumbering the dwarves in numbers.

As Thorin was about to pass him, Dáin turned immediately to his army.

"TO THE KING! TO THE KING!" He bellowed, before he joined to his cousin's, perhaps suicidal but at least honorable and noble, charge against the enemy lines.

Emboldened by their king's presence and bravery, Dain's forces broke their crescent-phalanx formation, rallied to Thorin and charged with him in a flying wedge formation towards the massive battalions of Goblins, Ogres, Wargs and other Goblins war beasts.

" _DU BEKAR!_ " Thorin shouted into the air during of his charge, which incited the dwarf army to let loose into the air their massive war cry while advancing upon Bolg's forces.

Though still afraid of incoming wave of re-emboldened dwarves, the Goblin battalions pushed/forced their cowardly backwards retreating front lines into full counter-attack against the dwarves, which the Goblins in the front lines eventually did so, though a bit reluctantly.

two long-term mortal enemies, dwarves and goblins, charged through of the field in front of the gates of Erebor towards each other.

But before the armies collided against the each other, the dwarves had to take down in the long line towards then charging ogres and giant troll-like goblins out of their way before they could handle the armies of Goblins.

Before the long line of ogres and giant goblins were able to reach and engage the dwarves with their wooden iron-spiked clubs, Over half of all the ogres and giant goblins were taken out/killed in mid-charge by a volley of spears hurled by the dwarves or the remaining dwarven war-chariot's bolt launchers, thus cleaning the coast and allowed the dwarves to advance without suffering the greater losses.

And within the seconds, Thorin, Dáin, Thorin's twelve companions and two thousand dwarf soldiers furiously collided against the ranks of the goblins, piercing majority of the first Goblin battalion's first lines down with their pikes, including majority of the goblin berserkers, and allowed the rest of the dwarves infantry with their swords and axes hungry for the Goblin flesh and blood to engage the Guldur Goblin in the fierce, brutal and bloody close combat.

The dwarves suffered the very minor losses from the Goblins lowered spears, along with the goblin berserkers spiked maces and from the volley of spears and few from the volley of launchers' bolts and spears survived ogres and giant goblins spiked wooden clubs, but the dwarves managed to slay from the first massive Goblin Battalion hundreds and hundreds of Guldur Goblin-soldiers in the process.

The groups of wargs and warg-riders attempted to charge over their fellow goblin soldiers to attack the dwarves, though most of the wargs and warg-riders, however, were either impaled by the dwarves' pikes or shot down with the dwarven war-chariots' bolt launchers.

Thorin, Fili, Kili and Oin fiercely cut down dozens of Guldur Goblin soldiers from each line on their way with their long-bladed dwarven swords and round shields.

Dwalin, Bifur, Ori and Gloin stroke down dozens of goblins with their large, two-handed and either double- or one-bladed dwarf-axes by striking the goblins to death with the lateral and brutal strikes to their stomachs or just swiftly decapitating them, or then they just dismembered the Goblins weapons holding arms or one of their legs off, leaving the wounded Goblins behind to lie in the ground and to be put down by other dwarves.

And Balin, Bofur, Nori, Dori and Dáin II Ironfoot either fatally stroke or crushed the skulls from dozens of goblins with their war hammers and war maces against of which the Goblin Guldur armors were a quite useless.

And last, but not least, Bombur wielded a huge and spiky dwarf-flail as his weapon of choice, with which the obese dwarf smashed the skulls from a few goblins and pushed some of them over to the ground with his large stomach.

The dwarf army, despite being smaller than their enemy, began to evenly match their overwhelming enemies blow for blow, as their army kept boldly storming through of the goblin lines and managed to destroy more than just majority of the first massive goblin battalion, before several other massive goblin battalions were able to engage the storming wave of dwarves...

...but even though two following goblin battalions combined together against the dwarves, the dwarves only kept pushing forward after destroying the first battalion completely and pushed their way through of the fresh goblin lines, reaching even deeper of next two together combined battalions and leaving behind the massive and wide carpet of dead goblin bodies.

The dwarves massive charge eventually reached to the line of the catapult-bearing mountain apes is also killed, where Bofur, Dwalin and Dáin teamed up against the much larger opponent and its goblin defenders.

While Dwalin and Dáin held back Guldur Goblins with their deadly weapons, Bofur attacked the mountain ape's legs and whacked one of its right leg's toes with his dwarves' war hammer and with all his strength,, that the strike broke one of the apes toe.

The ape bounced up from his knuckles on his hind legs and into upright position, roaring at the same time out of pain the ape-beast felt in its leg.

But, however, before the mountain ape was capable to make an encounter-attack against Dáin, Bofur and Dwalin, the monstrous ape's upright position caused weight of the boulders and the whole wooden catapult, including the Goblin-crew, to pull the monster backwards...

...until the monstrous ape eventually flipped onto his back to the ground, which unexpectedly caused the catapult beneath of it to activate and launch the monstrous ape into the sky. And after the rough-looking somersault in the air, the monstrous ape landed on its stomach on a pile of Guldur Goblin soldiers, squeezing them to death beneath of its massive weight and breaking its neck in the process.

The dwarves charge was eventually halted by two into one combined large Goblin-battalions and locked into another fierce and bloody hand-to-hand combat with Goblins, wargs and ogres of the combined battalions, before remains of the second and third battalion were joined by fourth and fifth battalion more...

...but despite being still heavily outnumbered, Thorin's company and Dáin's army had successfully inflicted heavy casualties upon the Goblins, wargs and other war-beasts, which grew even larger in the enemy's than in the dwarves' ranks.

As the battle raged, one large amputated war-ogre was still roaming all around of the battlefield, piloted by the goblin driver, wreaking massive havoc among the ranks of Dáin's warriors, brutally crushing or wiping with one swung dozens of dwarves with its flail arms and spiked club-feet.

Nori and Gloin, armed with Dáin's soldiers shields and pikes, attempted to bring down the monster by throwing their pikes at it, hitting only above of its right elbow and to its back, which merely infuriated the blind ogre even more, even provoking it to swing its deadly flails even harder, faster, and repeatedly, leaving behind of it dozens and dozens horribly mutilated by the flails four serrated-blades or beneath of the flails massive balls crushed bodies of unfortunate dwarves, who couldn't get fast and timely enough out of the monster's way.

The gigantic ogre's aggressive reaction to their attack caused both Nori and Gloin to retreat.

"NORI! GLOIN! HEADS AND SHIELDS UP! NOW!" The dwarves head Bofur shouting behind of them, provoking both of them to turn around and seeing Bofur charging towards them... with his eyes locked at the giant ogre and its Goblin driver.

Without even questioning his actions, Nori knelt down and lifted his shield above of himself, while Gloin remained on his feet but lifted his own shield up as well.

Bofur then bounced up from the ground onto Nori's shield and bounced from it onto Gloin's shield. And with the help of Gloin, as the red-bearded dwarf slightly bent his legs after Bofur bounced onto his shield, before he bounced up, straighten his legs and pushing both his shield and Bofur upwards, Bofur bounced off from Gloin's shield onto the ogre's right arm.

Using the dwarves' pikes, which were previously thrown at the ogre and were stuck in its thick skin, Bofur climbed along the ogre's arm as he headed to the ogre's hunchback, where the ogre's driver's seat and Goblin driver itself was located.

Once there, Bofur killed the ogre's Goblin driver, who was quite surprised of suddenly onto the ogre's back climbed dwarf's presence and completely unprepared for it, with one-handed axe, which Bofur sun into the Goblin's head, knocking the driver off the ogre's back.

And once driver out of his way, Bofur proceed to take control of the war ogre, which was sent into confusion after feeling dwarf climbing onto its back and was now aimlessly and blindly roaming around of the area.

Taking control over the ogre was initially easily said than done, because the ogre's nearly uncontrollable balancing-like movement made it difficult for Bofur to maintain his own balance on the seat on the ogre's back.

However, trying hard, Bofur eventually managed to take the ogre fully under of his control, and pulling from the reins in the ogre's eyes, Bofur directed the ogre away from the dwarven ranks and got it to blindly attack the ranks of the Guldur Goblins, crushing dozens and dozens of either from the rogue ogre fleeing or foolishly opposing Goblins in the process.

"I think I'm starting to get the hang of this." Bofur laughed, as he kept slaughtering the Guldur Goblin soldiers and bloodily crushing down the enemy ranks one by one with the ogre's flail arms.

And with the amputated war-ogre under of his control, Bofur proceed by directing the ogre to attack the remaining three mountain apes, destroying with one swung of the ogre's flail arm the catapults on the apes backs, killing the Goblin crews as well, before finishing off the apes one by one by crushing with the several heavy and mortal strikes of the flails four serrated-bladed balls the apes skulls.

From his command post, Bolg was greatly infuriated for losing his opportunity to finish off the dwarves and from the massive casualties the dwarves had inflicted upon his troops, while witnessing the tide-turning events of the battlefield.

Bolg furiously let out the feral snarl out of his mouth at this.

But after seeing the dwarves locked in the hand-to-hand combat with the remains of two into one combined Goblin-battalions and two remaining battalions, Bolg turned to his Goblin lieutenants.

"Send two fresh Goblin-battalions as a reinforcements for each either fallen or still standing battalion to the battlefield against the dwarves! And send even more war-beasts to wipe them out! NOW!" Bolg furiously ordered his lieutenants, who hurriedly and out of fear of Bolg's wrath carried on his orders.

* * *

 **Small Trivia**

Like in the book, but unlike in the film, Thorin's company charged from Erebor into the battlefield dressed into the shiny dwarf-armors to fight. So, I decided to make Thorin's dwarves to charge towards they enemies in their film's dwarf-armors rather than without them.


	14. Chapter 14: Take Out Their Leader

CHAPTER 14. TAKE OUT THEIR LEADER

While Bard led the fierce counterattack against the goblins in the ruins of Dale, on the battlefield outside Dale and Erebor, Thorin's and Dáin's dwarf forces kept fiercely and boldly fighting the goblins, wargs and ogres on the battlefield outside Dale and Erebor, inflicting even more heavy casualties upon the recent goblin battalions, with whom their forces had locked into the fierce but somewhat equally matched close combat...

...and as an result of that, some warriors in Dáins army were able to re-form the several small battalions of one hundred or even two hundred dwarven soldiers, who either charged with their shields up, swords or axes in their hands and their long pikes lowered down in mixed groups or marched in a disciplined ranks/battalions to aid their comrades, who were still stuck in the fierce and bloody close combat against the still advancing goblins, thus allowing their battalions to slowly but certainly grow sligthly larger and slayed dozens and dozens of Guldur goblins

But despite being somewhat equally matched with the goblins, wargs and ogres, the dwarves numbers started to heavily thin out once again in the hands of the goblins and ogres and there was even more larger and fresh goblin battalions, along with the company of ogres and giant goblins, advancing heavily towards the battling goblins and dwarves to aid the remains of the remains of the goblin battalions stuck in the battle.

Thorin, while keeping fighting with his sword against the Guldur Goblins, started to find himself surrounded by the goblin swordsmen and spearmen.

And knowing that even he cannot take down all of them at the same time if his attention/focus was in one or two goblin soldiers, of what the other goblins would use as a diversion to get close enough to finish him off...

"Dáin!" Thorin shouted, calling for his cousin, as he kept fighting against four Guldur goblin soldiers that surrounded him from four corners.

Thorin's calling for help was fortunately not left unheard by his cousin, as he turned to Thorin's voice's direction right after he had finished off one goblin soldier with his red-bladed axe.

"Thorin!" Dain shouted back...

...before he furiously attacked the next towards him attacking goblin halberdier by knocking the goblin's halberd off his hands with one strong swing with his axe, before the red-bearded dwarf-lord delivered the fatal blow to the goblin's stomach, causing the mortally wounded goblin to fall on his knees to the ground.

"Hold on! I'm coming!" Dàin shouted...

...as he jumped on his kneels in the ground lying goblin's back and bounced from it onto the man-sized goblin berserker's back, as the man-sized goblin was about to finish off in the ground at the goblin's mercy lying dwarven soldier.

Dàin placed his axe's long handle onto the goblin's throat and pulled it backwards, starting to choke the goblin with the brutal force.

The dwarf hitchhiker on its back forced the goblin to drop its sword out of its hands and turn its full attention away from the fallen dwarf soldier to Dáin's axe's long handle, that was pressing from behind his axe's handle hard backwards and against its throat.

The goblin berserker started to spin itself around while letting out the throaty growls out of his mouth... while being strangled by Dáin.

This allowed Thorin to maintain his focus on two of his current goblin opponents, whom he managed to dispatch with ease, though not before blocking with his sword some of the goblins own strikes with their own swords or shields, before Thorin pushed one of them aside over to the ground in order to deal with one of them first.

Thorin stabbed with his sword one goblin soldier to its right leg, after which he strongly slashed the severe to the bone reaching cut to the goblin soldier's other leg - and both of his strikes ended up to the goblin's thigh - causing the goblin to fall on its knees to the ground, after which Thorin beheaded the goblin with one straight slash. And after finishing off the first one, Thorin spun himself around as he turned to the next attacker. Thorin quickly and without hesitation slashed his sword's blade with from down to upwards pulled swing hard against the goblin soldier's chest armor, stunning the goblin for a moment and causing him to back off for a couple steps, Thorin immediately took an advantage from this and pulled his sword downwards once again, chopping off the goblin's sword-wielding arm. And once from the agony snarling goblin's attention was turned from Thorin to the remains of its amputated and bleeding arm, Thorin proceed by lifting his sword once again above of him before he swung it towards the goblin, targeting and eventually slashing the goblin's throat open, killing his opponent.

Meanwhile, Dáin was still hanging on the back of the goblin berserker, until he noticed one goblin soldier with the large spiked mace attempting to sneak behind of Thorin and lay the devastating strike to the back of his head...

...only for Dáin to release his right hand's grip from the handle of his axe, as well as releasing his weapon's strangling hold on the goblin's throat, and swung his axe towards the goblin, who unfortunately to him didn't suspected any kind of counterattack against him...

...and as an result, the goblin got its head severed from his shoulders by Dáin's axe before the goblin's strike could fell on Thorin, which also knocked the goblin's headless body off its feet over to the ground.

Dáin's strangling hold on the goblin's throat with his axe's handle had left its effect on the monstrous soldier, as it staggered weakly and breathed heavily to catch up for the air after Dáin released his hold onto its throat thus making him even more vulnerable for the dwarf-lord.

And with that, Dáin eventually jumped off the goblin's back and pulled with his own weight the goblin berserker downwards along with him.

From the lack of oxygen weakened goblin couldn't maintain his balance, especially when heavily armored dwarven-lord was pulling him backwards, and the growling monstrous human-sized goblin fell loudly and heavily on his back over to the ground.

"Hey, cousin!" Dáin called for Thorin, though before turning to him the red-bearded dwarf-lord laid the fatal strike with his axe through of the goblin's helmet's face shield to the goblin's faces, splitting them in half and killing him instantly.

And after the goblin's quite brutal death, Dáin happily turned to his cousin.

And after Thorin had got rid of his own attackers he turned to his cousin as well.

"What took you so long?" Dáin asked from his cousin, still a little confused that why Thorin and his company hadn't joined them to the battle earlier on the moment when they were most needed...

...and at the same time as he walked towards his cousin, out of some of his instincts, Dáin swung with his left hand his axe backwards, hitting fatally to the lone goblin soldier's, who was attempting to get up from the ground behind of Dáin's back and attempted at the same time to stab him to the back with its sword, armor's weaker spot through of luck, without even looking back over his shoulder.

However, Thorin had no heart to tell to his cousin, whom he had nearly left to die outside of Erebor, that what exactly happened inside of the mountain while he was possessed by the dragon-sickness...

...and Dáin found himself having no heart to ask further questions about it... not at least yet in middle of the chaos, 'cause it was to him far more important that his cousin was fighting on his side.

Laughing heartily at the sight of each others, the cousins embraced each others with the warm hug, while recently regrouped dwarf soldiers quickly rushed to their king(s) and formed two defensive lines around of them to protect their leaders from the goblin soldiers.

And once the cousins broke from the hug, Dáin turned his eyes on the battlefield over of the dwarf soldiers defensive ring around of them.

"There's still too many of these buggers, Thorin. Too many for us to handle... and even though I hate to admit this, my forces are starting to worn out." Dáin lamented as he eyed the battlefield and with each others battling dwarves and Guldur goblins.

Dáin was one of those dwarves who very rarely and even at those rare times stubbornly refused to accept some facts, but in this kind of situation, Dáin was forced to admit that even the dwarves stubborn and hardy attitude and their superior soldiery skills cannot outweigh the superior number of the enemy... not at least with the few hundred of still battle-eager dwarven soldiers.

And fully convinced of their desperate need for some miracle, Dáin turned back to his cousin with the half-pleading look in his faces.

"I hope you've got a plan, because we desperately need such."

Thorin agreed with his cousin.

They indeed needed some miracle to turn the tide of the battle to their advantage against still overwhelming armies of Goblins before they're completely wiped out.

They needed a some devastating strike against the goblins.

They needed something to lower their battle-willingness to the point that they would eventually lose it and giving up from the fight.

They needed to somehow destroy their system.

They needed to somehow break them and got them on the run.

They needed to something...

Thorin's eyes were then immediately locked to the top of the ruined tower at the Ravenhill, where the goblin lieutenants were once again giving the orders to the goblin army by changing the goblins war-banners formation.

Thorin immediately formed the quick and simple plan... after he discovered their possible key to victory.

BOLG!

"Aye. We're going to take out their leader." Thorin said, glaring at the goblins command post on the top of the ruined tower with the dark glare and a burning hatred in his eyes.

Dáin was left dumbfounded of such of plan... but was also shocked after realizing that who Thorin actually meant.

"Bolg? Spawn of Azog the Defiler?" Dáin questioned...

...as he witnessed Thorin walking away and, using the dead Guldur Goblin's corpse as a support, jumped onto the nearby standing and throughout most of the battle survived armored war-goat's back, taking the goat to his possession and under his control.

And after that, Thorin turned to his cousin.

"Aye. We failed to finish off that blood-line of that piece of filth once back in Moria. Now it's time to fix that fact once and for all." Thorin declared.

However, worrying for his cousin and knowing the power of Spawn of Azog the Defiler, Dáin started to protest this plan.

"Thorin, you cannot do this. You're our king." Dáin protested, pointing out Thorin's a new title as a King Under the Mountain and that his people on the battlefield needed him more than ever.

However, Thorin dismissed his cousin's protests, but acknowledged the truth in Dáin's claim that the dwarf army needed him... though Thorin stated that their people needed him more than ever differently rather than lead them in the battle with not hope to beat up the enemy in close combat.

"Yes. That is why I must do it." Thorin stated, as he was about to turn his goat to the direction of the Ravenhill and set off for the mission.

However, Dáin started to protest even more... even reminding Thorin about the several facts.

"But there's still a plenty of fresh and massive goblin battalions and their war-beasts standing between of you and Bolg. How do you plan to fight your way single-handed to Ravenhill?" Dáin questioned as he turned his attention to the Ravenhill's direction.

Dáin got the point in his words... there was still a new fresh goblin battalions incoming/standing in between of Thorin and Ravenhill. Straight charge against the massive battalions all alone would be close or totally suicidal mission.

However, before Thorin managed to respond to Dáin's question...

"Halt!" Was suddenly heard behind of the dwarf lords, which caught their attentions.

And to Thorin's and Dáin's surprise, a remaining dwarf-chariot drawn by a team of six rams appeared out of nowhere and stopped sharply between of the cousins.

a remaining dwarf-chariot was crewed by four dwarves of Thorin's company.

Balin worked as a driver of the chariot, while Dwalin had took control over the chariot's arrow-launcher and Fili and Kili had positioned themselves on either side of the chariot, ready to join to Thorin's mission to ride to Ravenhill and kill Bolg once and for all.

"That stop was too sharp, brother." Dwalin sarcastically said to Balin, as he turned from the chariot's arrow-launhcer to scowl at his brother.

"Well, it's been a while since I've done this." Balin said back to his younger brother.

Glad of having his most trusted and faithful dwarves alongside of him, Thorin turned to Ravenhill and called for charge!

"FORWARD! TO THE RAVENHILL!" Thorin ordered, as he set his goat on the move with a full gallop towards the Ravenhill.

And after Thorin passed them with his war-goat, Balin whipped with his bridles the goats on the move and after Thorin.

"Hold tight, lads. This is gonna be a rough ride." Balin warned his fellow companions.

While witnessing all of this from aside, Dáin was totally stunned of Thorin and his companions determination and temerity to go against the entire army of Goblins to get to Bolg's command post at the Ravenhill... even though having heavily armored a dwarven war-chariot as their advantage against the superior numbers of enemy soldiers and little caring of that that what happened to the previous war-chariots at the beginning of the battle.

"You're all mad, you bastards." The red-bearded dwarven lord called for Thorin's company, though suddenly startled dwarf-lord immediately jumped backwards after a dwarf chariot quickly reached to its full pace and was nearly hit by the chariot's iron wheel's scythe-blades.

"I like it." Dáin called after Thorin and his company, as the war-chariot passed him and charged through of the wide mess of each others battling dwarves, goblins, wargs and ogres and headed towards the peak of Ravenhill for the final and decisive battle.

And while following with his eyes Thorin's company's going for a last time before they would disappear out from the sight...

"Good luck, lands. And may Durin save you all." Dáin wished calmly.

 **TO BE CONTINUED...**


	15. Chapter 15: Grim News

**Hello, once again, to all viewers and readers, as well as for current and future followers and fans. It's finally time for my "BOLG IN AZOG'S ROLE" story to continue. I'm sorry people that I haven't updated my story lately since last chapter. I lost my old computer in the last spring to the several problems and because of which I was forced to buy a new one. My new computer has lately helped me to find the errors in my story's text, so I decided to fix my entire text by going through my entire story.**

CHAPTER 15. GRIM NEWS

While the dwarves kept struggling against the hordes of Guldur goblins and packs of wargs on the field in front of the gates of Erebor, the elves and lakemen were starting slowly but certainly reclaim the control over the city of Dale... or at least they managed to hold their ground in the tower-like citadel at least.

The walls and towers of the citadel were filled with the elves and lakemen archers, whom fired dozens and dozens of arrows and dropped the small boulders at the Guldur goblins and ogres hordes storming towards the citadel's high walls on the streets of the city.

So ogres had brought the tallest siege-ladders into the city and lifted them against the citadel's wall, allowing to around of them and the ladders gathered Guldur goblins to climb along of them to the walls and engage the defending lakemen and elves into another fierce combat.

However, even though the ladders were lifted against the walls all around of the citadel and the ladders were even overly full along of them to the walls climbing goblins, the defenders managed to fend the Guldur goblins off and only less than dozen of goblins managed to reach to the wall and engage the defenders

However, the majority of the Dulgur goblins and ogres targeted the main gates as well as the various causeways and stairs leading from the city into the citadel.

And because there were no doors in the gates (due to them being either burnt by Smaug a long ago or ending up to be spent and rot over time since Smaug's arrival) and the causeways and stairs were very vulnerable and easily to be used by the enemy, the gates, causeways and stairs were even fiercely defended by the defenders than what the citadel's walls were.

While the elves and the lakemen infantries fend off with the swords and spears the Guldur goblins and ogres hordes at the gates, the archers on the walls fired the volley of arrows down at the horde and slaughtered numerous goblins and few ogres at the gates of the citadel, thus creating the massive piles and carpets of goblins' bodies that covered the streets, which brought some difficulties for the enemy armies to advantage.

All those Guldur goblins whom made it through of the defenders volley of arrows - by lifting their shields above of themselves before entering inside of the gate - were disposed with ease by the elves and lakemen defenders.

However, the ogres, especially in the small groups and especially the bigger ones, proved to be more difficult to be taken down.

Despite the smaller ogres being vulnerable without armor in the close combat, they still managed to wreak havoc among of the defenders lines by fatally swinging their spiked wooden clubs laterally or straightly down at the defenders, plus kicking and trampling some of them with their legs and picking some of them from the ground before violently hurling them aside, before they were taken down one by one with the spears, arrows or swords.

The bigger ones were far more challenging, and these ogres presence mostly forced the defenders to retreat away from their way.

One of these ogres actually managed to break through of the defenses by swinging its spiked mace in the arch downwards and stroke a large bunch of Lakemen to death and out of its way, prompting the surviving defenders to retreat, and forcing Gandalf to confront the giant ogre by himself to hold the line and prevent the Guldur goblins behind of the giant ogre from advancing and entering into the citadel.

Gandalf attempted at first to ward off a ogre with his new staff, which he had received from Radagast the Brown, by spelling out of it the magical lightning and then the magical shock-wave at the ogre. However, the staff was unfortunately and awkwardly malfunctioning, giving the ogre the chance to advance. The giant beast had violently attacked the wizard by swinging its spiked mace down on him with all his strength and the weight of the weapon. While Gandalf dodged the beast's deadly weapon every time the ogre attempted to strike him, its weapon's missed strikes crushed the street beneath of it and created the small pit-like dents. The ogre's violent attacks also forced Gandalf to retreat backwards and towards the giant mountain ape, that was lying dead on its stomach in the same open area where Gandalf was battling with the ogre, still carrying slightly damaged trebuchet on its back.

However, as the ogre had managed to get Gandalf cornered and attempted to finish him off with the direct strike with its spiked mace, Alfrid Lickspittle, whom had foolishly hidden himself inside the net of a trebuchet away from the battle (in the woman's clothes), had panicked due to approaching ogre that was already too close for comfort that he had attempted to get out from the trebuchet's net and run away. However, while Alfrid was panicking, some of the coins he had stolen slipped off his corset, one of which landed directly on the trigger of the trebuchet and pressed it down. Following that, a trebuchet was triggered and it hurled the screaming Alfrid into the ogre's mouth before it could strike its mace down on Gandalf, inadvertently saving the wizard. Alfrid was suffocated to death in the ogre's mouth and the coins that slid down into the ogre's throat caused the ogre to be choked on him as well and the beast died soon and eventually fell heavily onto its stomach to the ground, in front of surprised Gandalf.

However, despite still growing losses among of the defenders, the defense did hold.

On the wall, Gandalf and Bilbo witnessed the defense of one of the stairs leading to the citadel, where large group of lakemen defenders valiantly hold their line against them approaching Guldur goblins, whom were led by another massive war ogre. The ogre was so close to reach to upon of the defenders, whom shot multiple arrows and threw several spears at the creature to stop it. The creature of course took a lot amount of arrows and spears, withstanding them thanks to its thick skin, until the defenders aimed most of their arrows and spears to ogre's head. Due to its thick skin, the ogre managed to withstood them, until some of the arrows flew into its eyes and blinded him. Some of the arrows flew to the ogre's throat's weaker spots and even into its mouth. And because of that, from inside of its mouth and from the weaker spots of its throat badly wounded ogre let out the roar-like groan in pain and fell backwards on the stairs, landing directly onto the battalion of Guldur goblins climbing the stairs right behind of it and squashed them to death, blocking at the same time one of the entrances into the citadel.

"We may yet survive from this." Gandalf stated with a new hope, before he and Bilbo moved to another defense post to aid Lakemen defenders, while they were holding the line and preventing with everything they had the hordes of Guldur Goblins from entering further into the citadel's streets.

However, Bilbo suddenly spotted something from distance.

"Gandalf!" Bilbo called for the wizard, as he rushed to the edge of the wall to see more clearly of what he had just saw.

Soon enough, after managing to pull himself off from the fight, Gandalf joined to Bilbo to see what he had saw a moment ago.

They saw four dwarves, whom were riding on the backs of four the dwarves' war goats. They were riding away from the battlefield and were heading along the mountain slope towards the top of the northwestern ridge.

Bilbo immediately recognized the dwarves on the backs of the goats, especially into the golden armor dressed dwarf leading the three others.

"It's Thorin." he said to Gandalf as he followed the dwarf company's going.

Once Gandalf took a look at foursome dwarves, the wizard quickly recognized the dwarves one by one.

"Indeed! And Fili, Kili... and Dwalin! He's taking his best warriors!" Gandalf said, like he immediately realized the motivation of Thorin and his company departing from the battlefield to the northwestern ridge of the mountain.

Bilbo went confused about what Gandalf had just said.

"To do what?" he asked from Gandalf.

Gandalf didn't immediately answer to Bilbo's question, as his eyes turned to the Ravenhill, where Bolg had placed his command post.

"To cut the head of the snake."

Meanwhile, at the top of the Ravenhill's ruined tower.

Bolg kept witnessing the battle in the field and in the city with his goblin captains.

Despite losing the opportunity to wipe out the remains of the dwarf army with one charge and despite the heavy losses the dwarves and the defenders in the city were causing among of his troops, everything was still going according to the plan.

Bolg lifted up his right hand and was about to give yet another order, until he heard approaching stamping of the hooves coming from below and turned to see that what was making that noise.

Through of the fog around of the hill and his command post, Bolg saw four dwarves - Thorin, Fili, Kili and Dwalin - riding on the backs of the goats through of the Ravenhill's snowy ruins, dwarf-made stone stairs and steep rocky hillside's edges.

Having separated into two groups, the dwarves fought their way through of to the ruined fortress settled Guldur Goblins, slaying them with their weapons with ease while riding pass of them and allowing their rams to ram any Guldur Goblin standing on their way to death, over to the ground and aside.

Thorin was first to reach to that part of the ruins of the fortress, where supposed to be a long time ago the stone bridge leading to the opposite side, where was located the main fortress of the Ravenhill, across of now frozen river floating through of the fortress and leading to the high waterfall. Now the bridge was gone (possibly because of Smaug's attack a long ago or got collapsed from the middle part into the river over time) and left only the basements of the bridges to each sides.

And there, Thorin immediately met the resistance in the form of somewhat larger Guldur Goblins.

Jumping off from the back of his goat, Thorin bounced towards one attacking Guldur goblin soldier and with the hard swing, he slashed the goblin's throat open and let the goblin to fall dead over to the ground. Thorin then dodged the next attacking goblin's strike by bowing down out of the goblin's sword's way, before he sunk his sword's blade deep into the goblin's abdomen, mortally wounding the goblin, before he pulled with two hands his sword and the goblin along with it to his left and hurled the goblin aside, pulling his sword out from the dead creature's flesh. And then, Thorin swung his sword with all strength to his right and struck it against the third and with the hard pace towards him attacking goblin's chest armor. Though it did not cause to the goblin any fatal injury, the hard strike left the goblin soldier stunned and caused him to turn his left, and which also got the goblin at the same time to stumble at his own feet and fall onto his back to the nearby stone table. Thorin then finished off his helpless foe by decapitating his head with the direct strike.

Thorin was about to get overwhelmed by incoming Guldur goblins, whom were suddenly ambushed from above by Fili and Kili, whom directed their rams to charge down the ruins different-leveled levels and stone stairs down to the bridge's area and directed their rams to ram several Guldur goblins off from the edge of the bridge's remains, before they themselves jumped off from the backs of their rams and immediately engaged the Guldur goblins into the close combat with their swords alongside their uncle. Using their teamwork, the brothers watched each other's flanks while severing off the goblins' legs and arms before slashing their throats open, stabbing them brutally to the faces through of their helmets face guards and decapitating them.

Dwalin was the last one to join to the other dwarves at the bridge. The dwarf veteran, once after jumping off from the back of his own goat, attacked the goblins with the berserk-like rage and mercilessly started to maul the goblins with his double-bladed axe.

"DIE!" the dwarf roared, as he brutally damaged the goblin's exposed knees with his axe's blade, causing the goblin to fall onto its knees to the ground before him. After which, Dwalin finished the goblin off by severing its head off from shoulders.

Bolg kept witnessing Thorin, Fili, Kili and Dwalin finishing off his goblin troops with ease at the ruins of the fortress at the opposite side of the river. However, the giant Pale Goblin wasn't surprised at all the dwarves apparent attempt to reach to him, neither he felt himself threatened at all.

Actually, Bolg created the dark grin on his torn lips.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" the Giant Goblin mumbled silently and sadistically.

Meanwhile, back in the city...

The woodland elves, prince Legolas and Tauriel, had finally arrived on the horseback to the city of Dale from their investigation trip in the north close of the northern part of the line of the Misty Mountains, only to find the valley in front of the gates of Erebor being filled by the black legions of the goblins and the city of Dale in fire and the streets overrun with the goblins.

However, despite that, the elves rode through of the streets filled by the hordes of goblins and slaughtered corpses of the lakemen, elves and Guldur goblins.

On their way towards the citadel of the city, Legolas swung the elven-sword Orcrist, that was glowing the blue light at the presence of the goblins, down towards the goblins, whom they wither passed or whom were about to attack them, leaving behind the line of from the elf blade mortally wounded goblins. And Tauriel fired her elven arrows from the horseback at the attacking goblins, killing them with the direct and lethal hit from the short range.

The elves eventually reached to one of the gates of the citadel, which was about to be overrun by the new herd of incoming Guldur goblin and the ogre, while the defenders were ready to defend that gateway against the invaders.

However, despite this, the elves rode through of the front lines of the goblins, whom were surprised after spotting their sudden incoming towards their exposed flank and were immediately either knocked over by Legolas and Tauriel's white horse or killed by the elves' blades.

And once the elves were out of their way, the defenders immediately charged in the huge numbers out from the gate and engaged the goblins into the close combat. Thanks to Legolas and Tauriel's sudden interference, the goblins were confused or still lied knocked down in the ground, so that the lakemen defenders had no difficulties to fend them off and mercilessly slaughter their enemies. They definitely didn't want to give to the goblins any chance to regroup and launch the counter-attack against them.

Legolas headed to one of the citadel's walls in the northern side, where he almost immediately found Gandalf with Bilbo.

"Mithrandir!" Legolas called for the wizard, as he halted his horse's pace.

After hearing being called by the name the elves usually called him with, Gandalf immediately pulled his attention temporarily off from the city's defense and turned to the direction of the call, spotting Legolas landing down from the back of his horse.

"Legolas? Legolas Greenleaf!" Gandalf said, glad to see the Elven King's son, and immediately hurried towards him to hear that what the elvish prince of the Mirkwood had to say to him, Bilbo following him right behind.

Leaving the horse for Tauriel and some women of Lake-Town to be taken care, Legolas hurried towards Gandalf. And once the elvish prince reached to wizard, Legolas immediately began to inform to Gandalf about what he had seen during of his trip in the north.

"There's the second goblin army. Behind of the northwestern ridge has been encamped the army of the Gundabad goblins. They are now in motion and almost upon us." Legolas informed to Gandalf.

Such of news shocked even the wizard.

"Gundabad?" Gandalf questioned again, which Legolas confirmed with the nod.

The wizard fell into his thoughts: since at first they had only Dol Guldur, its armies, Bolg and the _Ancient Evil_ dwelling there as their problems, and now they had Mount Gundabad and its goblin reinforcements as an additional problem.

Gandalf of course remembered the vision, which he had saw through of the Palantíri back in Dol Guldur, that had showed him the invading armies of Mount Gundabad marching under Smaug's leadership down to the south to invade the Middle Earth from the lands of Eriador to Gondor's.

This was supposed to happen right after Dol Guldur's forces having taken over all three kingdoms of Eriador into their possession and moving to the ancient realm of Angmar to release these armies. He hadn't expected them to be released upon them so early.

However, Gandalf started to consider the theory that even though the _Ancient Evil_ was fully aware of the elven realm in Mirkwood, his army was largely built and designed for the war with the dwarves and to match their superior soldierly might. The humans living near of the mountain would be only a minor nuisance for his plans to conquer the Lonely Mountain, compared to the threat of dwarves.

However, the superior soldierly might of the army of woodland elves, compared to both dwarves and men, would be even more capable to level the odds in the battle, despite the goblins' superiority in numbers. More than just half of entire army would be annihilated by interference of the army of elves in addition of facing the dwarves.

The interference of the elves must've been the motivation for this.

"Yes... All this was part of his plan all along. Bolg engages our forces from the south as a distraction and then leads reinforcements upon us from the north." Gandalf said, now entirely sure of the real nature of this attack.

Their own forces were already worn out and dangerously thinned in the battle against the Guldur forces. Once these reinforcements arrive to the valley, they'll be crushed in between of two armies and wiped out entirely... and the _Ancient Evil_ will reach to his goal.

"What? Th-th-the north? Where is the north exactly?" Bilbo asked, as he started to look alternately to the different directions to locate the direction of the north.

However, Gandalf knew it already.

"Ravenhill." he replied, as he turned to the direction where Ravenhill, which was nearly covered by the fog and the smoke, was located and rushed to the edge of the wall.

Bilbo was shocked after learning the direction of the north... and remembering something else why these news were even more grim.

"Ravenhill? You must be kidding! Thorin is up there. And Fili and Kili! They're all up there!" Bilbo exclaimed at this horrific revelation as the hobbit rushed after Gandalf to the edge of the wall to look at the Ravenhill.

"And they're about to be heavily overwhelmed and slaughtered if we don't do something." Gandalf added as they kept looking at fog-covered Ravenhill.

 **TO BE CONTINUED...**


	16. Chapter 16: Fili's Death

CHAPTER 16: FILI'S DEATH

"Where is that goblin-filth?!" Dwalin snarled impatiently as he observed with his eyes the watchtower's ruins at the other end of the destroyed bridge.

A calmer Thorin thought that very same question in his head as well, though he also wondered that why Fili and Kili hadn't yet come back to report.

After he, Fili, Kili and Dwalin had defeated the first batch of Guldur goblins occupying this side of the Ravenhill's fortress' bridge, they had immediately found the rest of the peak's watchtower's ruins and Bolg's command post at topside of it a completely deserted, with Bolg nowhere to be found. Fili had suggested at first Bolg having escaped like the coward, but Thorin didn't agree, knowing that the son of Azog the Defiler won't leave before he would have his revenge against him and Dáin who was still fighting against Bolg's army with the remains of his army and Thorin's company in the Valley.

Thorin, despite having a bad feelings about this, had decided to take the risk and decided to send Fili and Kili to scout ahead the ruins, caverns and upper levels of the watchtower, advising them to keep low and out of sight and come immediately back to report if they see suspecting, forbidding them to engage to the battle.

And after giving these detailed instructions to his sister's sons, he had sent them away at the same time as he and Dwalin were ambushed and engaged by in the ruins hiding group of one hundred goblin mercenaries from the Goblin-Town. Fili and Kili had sneaked inside of the tunnels and caverns of deserted ruins of the watchtower while Dwalin and Thorin slaughtered the entire group of goblins, leaving even thicker carpet of goblins' corpses beneath of their feet.

And after killing the goblins, Dwalin and Thorin began to observe the ruins from this side of the bridge, wondering both Bolg's and Fili & Kili's whereabouts.

Until Thorin and Balin heard the familiar voice behind of them.

"Thorin!"

Thorin instantly recognized Bilbo's voice and turned around to see the hobbit having appeared out of nowhere behind of them.

"Bilbo!" Thorin said with the relieved voice. There was no words to tell how relieved and glad he was to see their hobbit companion still alive, though exhausted and panting heavily, but alive nonetheless.

And along with the relief, Thorin was instantly filled a deep regret of what he had said and almost done to the innocent hobbit under of the dragon-sickness back at the main gate of Erebor, where Bilbo had confessed to him having given the Arkenstone to Bard and Thranduil in order to prevent the unnecessary bloodshed between of dwarves and the alliance of the men and elves and that Thorin would give the share of the treasure he had promised to the people of Esgaroth earlier in exchange for the Arkenstone.

Thorin started to walk towards Bilbo to apologize, but Bilbo made it clear that there was no time for that.

"Thorin! You have to leave here, now! Bolg has another army! They're attacking from the north. This watchtower will be soon completely surrounded and we'll be overwhelmed if we do not get out." Bilbo explained while still panting heavily.

Thorin's relieved look on his faces immediately switched into the horrified after what Bilbo has just said.

"Are you sure about this?" Thorin asked. Though the trusted to the hobbit's word, he wanted to be sure about the news.

"That's why I ran all the way from Dale to here to warn you of this without stopping at all." Bilbo replied, which was already enough to convince Thorin.

However, even after hearing the news of incoming goblin army, Dwalin was far from giving up now when they were so close of slaying Bolg.

"Thorin, we cannot give up now! We're so close! That goblin-scum is in there! I say we should go there and drag that cowardly filth out of his hiding spot!" Dwalin declared and started to move towards the other side of the frozen river.

However, Thorin halted him.

"No! That is exactly what he wants! He didn't want to engage us directly but draw us in." Thorin said, as he finally realized the true colors of this situation.

"You mean...?" Dwalin asked as he started to reveal the horrifying truth as well.

"This was a trap!" Thorin replied, as both dwarves and Bilbo turned their gazes at the ruins at the opposite side of the river, remembering much to their horror that Fili and Kili were out there inside the watchtower and unaware of the true nature of this.

Knowing that his sister's sons were now in grave danger...

"Find Fili and Kili! Call them back!" Thorin ordered with worried tone.

Dwalin was about to go, until he stopped and turned around to look at Thorin.

"Thorin. Are you sure about this?" Dwalin questioned.

"Don't ask, just do it." Thorin said back.

"We might be one thing for the one garrison but against the army were a mere flies. If we leave now, we'll live to fight another day." Thorin said, seeing no reason to even try to find and fight Bolg with the risk of getting both surrounded and overwhelmed by an army, which is superior to them in numbers.

Dwalin nodded to his long-time friend and headed towards the stairs leading to the frozen river, then he would go across the river and head to the ruins to find Fili and Kili.

Thorin then turned to Bilbo. "Come on, Bilbo. Let's get out of here."

Bilbo nodded in agreement.

As Thorin and Bilbo turned their backs and were about to leave, as well as Dwalin was about to leave for Fili and Kili as well, they all suddenly heard the deep sound of the drums coming from the ruins, that halted all of them still and look back at the ruins.

Their gazes and full attention then locked into the ruined tower in front of the bridge, where they saw through of the opened wall the ominous burning lights of the torches glowing against the inner walls of the tunnels leading inside of the tower.

Thorin, Bilbo and Dwalin regrouped as they all stared at the top of the tower.

And within no time, from among of the ruins covering fog to the edge of the peak of the same tower appeared no one else than Bolg himself, along with all of his heavily armored goblin lieutenants with the torches, spears, swords, maces and shields in their hands.

Bolg was also roughly dragging someone with him to the edge, whom revealed to be Fili, much to Thorin's, Bilbo's and Dwalin's shock and horror.

Like Thorin had said, it was the death trap Bolg had set upon of them. And through of it, the pale goblin had managed to capture Fili from the tunnels of the tower, where his goblins had immediately surrounded and overpowered him, disarmed him and brought him to Bolg's hands.

Also Kili, who had come out from the tunnels as the base of the fortress, noticed his brother being captured by Bolg, much to his horror.

Bolg then lifted Fili up like the rag doll to show him to Thorin.

"I was expecting you to come here, instead of cowardly sending your filthy nephew here to face me in your place!" Bolg bellowed in Black Speech to Thorin, with an apparent disappointed tone, implying that he had wanted to capture Thorin from the tunnels of the ruined watchtower and kill him instantly.

However, his disappointed look on his face suddenly switched into a sadistically pleased one.

"No matter! This actually turned into something even more fun!" Bolg informed with sadistic tone, before shaking Fili to forward to Thorin's direction with his from Fili's armor holding arm.

"This one dies first... then the brother shall die next... then you, Oakenshield. I'll make sure that you die last, but not before seeing your nephews to die before your eyes." Bolg said with the sadistic willing to let Thorin to see Fili and Kili to die before his eyes to torture him before he would move to Thorin.

Fili looked down at his uncle, Bilbo and Dwalin... apparently unaware that his brother was witnessing this as well.

"Go. Please." Fili pleaded, not wanting his uncle, his brother nor his friends to see what was coming for him.

However, Thorin, Bilbo and Dwalin didn't even move a muscle to leave, too stricken by the shock of seeing Fili in the hands of the enemy and with grief after realizing that there was nothing what they could do to save Fili. Even Kili, who kept looking up with the deep fear for his brother's life, he knew that he would never get to the top of the tower to save his brother in time, much to his grief.

Fili then turned to his uncle, wanting to ask from him something.

"Uncle? Will you... will you tell my mother... that I love her?" Fili asked as his dying wish, knowing that his death was imminent and accepting it as his own fate.

Thorin's couldn't answer to that with his mouth, only gave his doomed nephew a small nod as "yes."

All of them, even Fili through of the corner of his left eye saw that Bolg stretched out his free hand towards one of the goblin lieutenants who gave him his spear and pulled it backwards behind of Fili's back. Everybody hold their breath.

"RUN!" Fili shouted for the last time, before Bolg fatally ran the spear through of Fili, killing him.

Thorin gasped in shock, while Bilbo was deeply stricken by this merciless and traumatizing act and Dwalin tearfully turned his eyes away from the horrific sight. Also Kili was stricken by the shock and grief after seeing his brother being impaled by Bolg.

The goblins around of Bolg merely laughed at this.

Bolg then left the spear in Fili's lifeless body and lifted him even higher to show his trophy, just like his father had done with Thrór in front of his people over 150 years ago back at the Easters Gates of Moria.

"HERE ENDS YOUR FILTHY BLOODLINE, FOR MY FATHER'S MEMORY!" Bolg declared, before tossing Fili's body off the tower, before locking his with the sadistic pleasure filled but from the dissatisfaction burning eyes at Thorin.

"I'm waiting, Oakenshield." Bolg added with sadistic grin, before he headed back inside of the ruins along with his lieutenants, leaving horrified Thorin, Bilbo and Dwalin behind.

Fili's body landed to the ice, directly before Kili's eyes. The younger dwarf was deeply horrified of seeing his brother's with the spear impaled body in front of him, with Fili's lifeless eyes looking directly at his own. Kili grieved his brother for a moment, until his shock and grief turned into burning and vengeful hatred towards Bolg.

Unable to control himself, Kili rushed with angry cries to the upper levels of the tower to find Bolg and make him pay for what he had done.

Seeing what Kili was doing snapped Thorin out of his own grief.

"KILI! NO!" Thorin cried, hurriedly rushing after his remaining nephew, not wanting to lose him too.

"Thorin! No!" Dwalin cried, running after Thorin in order to prevent him from running into the death trap just like Fili.

Bilbo, still shock- and grief-stricken, was left alone to the bridge by Thorin and Dwalin. Bilbo stood still and kept looking at the peak of the tower, on which Fili had been executed in front of them by Bolg, for a some time.

However, Bilbo eventually snapped out of it and draw out his blue glowing sword, knowing that * _now there was no going back*_ from what had happened.

With all dwarves had either gone either after Kili or Bolg, feeling/knowing his place to be alongside them, Bilbo was about to follow his dwarf-friends across the river to the ruins of the watchtower and join to the fight... or at least help them the best way he could.

While Bilbo and Dwalin were still in the opposite side of the destroyed bridge and the frozen river, Thorin reached to the stone stairs at the basement of the fortress and started immediately climb them up, as he headed towards the upper levels of the watchtower to find his nephew before it was too late...

...while Kili was way ahead beyond of Thorin's reach for now, as the young dwarf prince, filled and drawn forward by hatred and lust for vengeance, made his way through the tunnels and stairs to the upper level of the watchtower and killed on his path every Guldur goblin hiding within the ruins.

The Battle of the Ravenhill - a decisive battle of this war - had just began.

 **TO BE CONTINUED...**

 **Trivia**

* _now there's no going back_ *. I've been to whispreing that line to myself every time I watch the scene, where Bilbo draws out his sword after Fili's execution and before the battle at Ravenhill since seeing the film for the first time. The music of that brief scene makes Bilbo's moment so epic.


End file.
